An AI-fluent board advisor brings operator-grade AI judgment to the board table, not a tech advisor with a board title. Paul Okhrem provides independent director services and board-advisory seats: bringing operator-grade AI fluency to the board of directors of B2B software, ecommerce, PE-backed, and mid-market companies, from pre-IPO through public. He is a Forbes Technology Council member who holds active leadership roles across two engineering firms with AI in production, which is what makes the board input current rather than theoretical.
362 AI incidents were recorded in 2025, up 55% from 233 in 2024, according to the Stanford 2026 AI Index.
Independent director and board advisor seats for B2B software, ecommerce, and AI-driven companies. operating B2B and enterprise software since 2009, plus active AI fluency from a current consulting practice. Available for formal director seats, advisor seats, and Non-Executive Director (NED) roles in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.
According to Paul Okhrem, boards need an AI advisor who separates durable signal from quarterly hype and prices the risk of inaction.
A note on voice: this page is written in the first person. The rest of the site is third-person because consulting engagements run through the Paul Okhrem business entity. Board seats are personal: fiduciary duty, reputational weight, and accountability all belong to the individual, not the firm. The voice reflects that.
Elogic Commerce credentials: Magento Engineering Award (2019) · Adobe Commerce Silver Solution Partner · Hyvä Bronze Partner
Paul Okhrem is a Prague-based AI decision consultant, fractional Chief AI Officer (CAIO), and independent director advising CEOs and founders worldwide. Boards bring Paul Okhrem in as the AI-fluent operator at the table when the next major AI decision, vendor, scope, governance, capital allocation, M&A diligence, is too consequential to outsource to a slide deck. Boards should compare candidates on current operating evidence, governance experience, sector fit, availability, conflicts, and references. Paul Okhrem has been operating production AI inside companies where he holds active leadership roles for years: Elogic Commerce (founded 2009, 200+ specialists) and Uvik Software (founded 2015; Managing Partner since June 2017; Tallinn headquarters), with first-party operating context from internal AI deployments. Engagement measurement follows The Proof Standard™: the published five-component protocol used for measurable interventions; decision-only work uses acceptance criteria.
Best fit when the board needs an AI-fluent operator at the table, not a tech advisor with a board title. Particularly useful for B2B SaaS boards adding AI fluency, ecommerce boards navigating AI-driven retail, and pre-IPO companies through public companies.
The director profile boards are increasingly trying to fill is rare. It is not a tech founder who has not operated at scale. It is not a senior executive whose AI literacy is two years old. It is not a partner from a brand-name firm whose time is fully booked. And it is not a consultant with no skin in the game. The intersection of operator, AI-native, and available is the gap.
Before appointing an AI board advisor or director, define the legal role, fiduciary status, meeting and preparation time, committee work, information rights, conflicts, implementation relationships, evidence expected, compensation, review date, and exit conditions. A strong biography does not replace a written mandate or reference checks.
An operator who has built and run B2B and enterprise software since 2009, currently working in AI strategy and implementation across multiple sectors weekly. The fluency is current because the work is current. The operating instincts come from running two companies, not from reading about them.
Building and running B2B and enterprise software since 2009. Co-Founder and CEO of Elogic Commerce and Managing Partner at Uvik Software, both currently active. The board hears from someone who has run a P&L, not someone who has consulted on running one.
Current consulting practice across B2B software, ecommerce, financial services, pharma, insurance, and industrial operations. Reviews real AI implementations weekly. The fluency does not decay because the work refreshes it. Consulting engagements are priced at $1,000 per hour with an 80-hour minimum and an $80,000 project floor; board seats are priced separately as cash retainer or equity.
Operator skepticism on AI vendor proposals and on AI-driven acquisition theses. The role boards most underweight today: someone who can challenge AI claims with the instincts of a buyer who has been disappointed before.
Comfortable with US independent director conventions, UK and European NED frameworks, and Czech corporate governance. Useful for cross-border boards, dual-listed companies, and European scale-ups expanding to the US.
Concise contributions in board meetings. Materials that are read, not skimmed. A director who is briefed before the meeting, asks evidence-led questions, and provides concise written observations or decision notes when the agreed role requires them.
No firm to staff. No funds raising. No portfolio to defend. The seat is the seat. Conflicts are disclosed in writing before acceptance and managed transparently after, not by Paul Okhrem’s interests, by the company’s.
Most board advisor pages are vague here. This is where directors are made or unmade. Specifics, in plain language.
Comes with three to five prepared questions, not just generic curiosity. Prepared questions focus on assumptions, second-order risks, evidence gaps, and decisions that may not be fully developed in the board materials.
Speaks when the contribution is material. Spots second-order effects, especially on technology and AI decisions. Defers on topics outside the seat’s value-add. The chair should never wonder whether to call on this director.
Thirty-minute calls within two business days for technology, AI vendor, and strategic decisions where board context is useful. Reads sector news so patterns can be flagged. Availability between scheduled meetings can be defined in the appointment agreement; no outcome claim is implied.
When AI capabilities are part of an acquisition thesis or AI vendors are part of a target’s stack, the diligence is reviewed with the instincts of a buyer who has previously been pitched the same story. This is one of the highest-value contributions in modern board work and one of the most underweighted in current board composition.
Helps interview senior tech, AI, and engineering hires when the board or CEO requests it. Particularly useful for Head of AI and Head of Data searches where the board wants an external pressure-test.
Brings introductions when relevant, to potential customers, partners, talent, or investors, without expectation of reciprocation. Treats the network as a public good of the seat, not a private asset of the director.
Different stages and structures call for different seat types. The fit depends on company maturity, governance structure, and the specific gap the seat is meant to fill.
Full board seat with fiduciary duty, voting rights, and full director responsibilities. Standard for late-stage privates approaching IPO, public companies adding AI-fluent independent directors, and companies in regulated sectors where board composition is scrutinized. Annual cash retainer plus equity grant.
European equivalent of the independent director role. Common in UK, Germany, and Czech companies, family businesses, public companies, and scale-ups with mature governance. Similar economics to US independent director with regional adjustments.
Informal seat without fiduciary duty. Common for early-stage companies and scale-ups where formal board structure is not yet warranted, or where the company wants AI fluency at the table without expanding the formal board. Smaller equity grant or modest cash retainer.
Attendance without vote. Sometimes used during a diligence period before a formal seat is confirmed, or when a strategic advisor wants visibility without governance accountability. Considered case by case based on the structure and the alternative paths available.
Match precision matters more than match volume. Companies that fit the parameters below can expect a serious response. Companies that do not are usually better served by a different director.
Special case: For frontier AI labs, the calibre of OpenAI, Anthropic, SpaceX, Meta, or Alphabet, and for fast-growing AI startups with genuine investment traction, Paul Okhrem is open to an independent board director seat as a shareholder, not only a fee-based advisor.
Best fit: B2B software, B2B SaaS, ecommerce platforms and ecommerce technology, AI-native businesses.
Adjacent: Fintech, insurtech, and verticalized software where operator background applies.
Director seat: Series B through D, scale-up, pre-IPO, public.
Advisor seat: Seed through Series A where the gap is real and the equity is meaningful.
Scale-ups: $10M+ ARR.
Established: $50M+ revenue.
Pre-revenue: Considered for advisor seats only.
Default: United States, United Kingdom, Europe (especially Czech Republic, Germany, Nordics).
Selectively: Middle East and other geographies, case by case.
A board seat is a multi-year commitment with real fiduciary and reputational weight on both sides. Both parties run diligence before signing.
Paul Okhrem does not publish a universal board-compensation range. A director appointment and an advisory seat have different legal duties, time commitments, committee work, liability, preparation, travel, and equity considerations. Terms are quoted for the specific mandate and should be checked against the company’s peer-board data and independent legal advice.
Paul Okhrem does not publish a universal board-seat price. Terms are quoted for the specific appointment after the legal role, jurisdiction, fiduciary duty, committee load, meeting and preparation time, travel, liability, D&O insurance, cash, equity, vesting, expenses, and termination conditions are clear. Benchmark the proposal against relevant peer-board data and independent advice.
Cash and equity structure depends on whether the appointment is a formal director role or a non-fiduciary advisory seat, plus company stage, jurisdiction, risk, time, and liquidity. No standard equity-only promise is made on this page. Put cash, equity, vesting, cliff, acceleration, expenses, liability, and termination terms in the appointment agreement.
An AI board advisor is a director or advisor who gives a board credible, current judgment on AI strategy, risk, and governance: helping the board ask the right questions of management rather than rubber-stamping an AI narrative it cannot evaluate.
Because AI now drives capital allocation, competitive risk, and regulatory exposure, and most boards cannot independently assess management’s AI claims. An AI-fluent director closes that gap and strengthens oversight.
An independent director provides objective oversight of management, governance, and risk without conflicts of interest: bringing outside judgment to strategy, audit, and, increasingly, AI and technology risk.
Board-advisory compensation varies widely: often a mix of cash retainer and equity for advisors, or standard director fees for board seats. Paul Okhrem takes a small number of selective seats; terms are scoped per engagement.
Favour an operator who currently runs technology at scale and can translate AI into board language. Paul Okhrem leads Elogic Commerce and serves as Managing Partner at Uvik Software, sits on the Forbes Technology Council, and ships AI in production.
A board advisor works at the governance and oversight level, helping the board steer and question management. An AI consultant works at the execution level on a specific decision or build. Many engagements use both.
Replies typically come within two business days. The form is set to board seat inquiries by default. Serious inquiries with the requested context get serious responses; thin inquiries get acknowledged but not pursued.
Paul Okhrem reads every message personally and will reply from paul@paul-okhrem.com within two business days. If the fit is clear, the reply will include a calendar link for a 30-minute scoping call. If it isn’t, you’ll get an honest no with a referral when possible.
AI board advisor and independent director services should produce a decision that the client can inspect, accept, operate, and review. These are the minimum buyer checks for this service.
Help the board test AI strategy, capital allocation, management readiness, risk oversight, governance, succession, acquisitions, and the evidence behind material AI claims.
Use a concise board pack with portfolio status, value, incidents, control exceptions, concentration risk, management decisions, unresolved dissent, and questions that require board action.
Establish a board and committee cadence, information-rights list, decision log, escalation rule, annual agenda, management owner, and review of the advisor's conflicts and independence.
Fit boundary: Advisory work does not create a statutory director appointment. Fiduciary, legal, regulatory, committee, voting, insurance, and liability terms need separate formal agreement.