Cutting Through the AI Noise to Drive Real Business Value (Stockport)

Hemant is the founder and CEO of Anumana, a BCorp certified Data and AI consultancy business.

Hemant founded Anumana to help other fast growth organisations create sustainable commercial value from their data, leading businesses to become more data driven in their decision making.

Alongside the commercial endeavours of the business, Hemant has developed a social mobility programme – the Anumana Code Academy, delivering free python training programmes to disadvantaged children across Greater Manchester.

Laura Cameron is Senior Manager and Northwest Lead at Resonance and Agentcy, where she leads the agency’s Manchester office and works with B2B tech brands across PR, marketing and brand strategy. Agentcy is Resonance’s proprietary AI-powered platform, designed to help brands operationalise their communications programmes.

Alongside this, she is also a Fractional Marketing Director at a Stockport-based IT infrastructure provider, one of The Times’ fastest-growing companies in 2025, where she supports marketing strategy during a key phase of growth.

Laura focuses on helping businesses make sense of how AI is changing the way they show up, get found, and drive demand.

Ian Yeates is Head of Business Development UK at Galvia AI, where he partners with retailers and enterprise organisations to transform AI from a source of hype into a driver of measurable business outcomes. With over 15 years of experience spanning retail, technology, and commercial leadership, Ian has built a career helping organisations unlock the value of their data to improve decision-making, optimise operations, and accelerate growth.

Prior to joining Galvia AI, Ian held a range of senior business development and commercial roles, working closely with both established enterprises and high-growth technology companies. His experience covers everything from frontline retail operations through to strategic partnerships and digital transformation initiatives, giving him a well-rounded perspective on the real-world challenges businesses face when adopting new technologies.

The programme will be delivered by Phil Birchenall, founder of Diagonal Thinking. Phil is a business strategist who has worked hands-on to help companies improve their operations through the pragmatic application of technology for over two decades. Phil’s interest in Artificial Intelligence in creating operational advantage began in his role as MD of an international TV formats research business, where he commissioned an AI-powered intelligence system tracking trends across the global TV sector, working with a first-to-market AI development team, Morse.

Having continued to develop his understanding of how AI can be deployed in businesses, he is now called upon to create and deliver workshops, courses and presentations on the
utilisation of AI for large-scale corporates, public sector organisations, educators, alongside freelancers and SMEs. His work is featured in a case study video on the OpenAI website, and
has been featured on Forbes and in two best-selling edtech books, The AI Classroom and Infinite Education.

Phil’s clients include Northumbrian Water Group, the largest STEM education resource in the world, Discovery Education (where Phil delivered a pilot project for the global media brand),
Port of Tyne, Vistage, MMU, Creative UK, GM Chamber, Salford University, Sharp Futures, Manchester Histories and South Gloucestershire & Stroud College. He is co-founder of The AI Cafe: a regular meet-up for professionals developing solutions that utilise AI. Prior to establishing Diagonal Thinking, Phil built his business experience through roles a wide range of organisations. As MD of global TV trends company, Phil expanded a small media operation with a handful of staff to a core team of 15 with a network of international stringers, working with around 100 clients, including Netflix, Disney and Amazon Studios.