Member Spotlight: Allan Nielsen, Co-Founder, Nielsen & Brown

Introduce yourself

I am Allan Nielsen, Co-founder of Nielsen & Brown, an AI strategy and delivery consultancy for UK businesses with 10 to 300 employees.

I have spent most of my career alongside the businesses that keep the UK moving, leading commercial teams and helping people solve practical problems. Along the way, I became fascinated by how small improvements in technology, and now AI, can genuinely change someone’s working day.

I started Nielsen & Brown because I kept seeing small and medium-sized businesses sold enterprise tools and big promises, then left unsure where to begin. We help them find where AI really makes a difference, build what fits, and stay alongside their people while it beds in. We are vendor-independent, so our advice is always about what is right for them.

I am a husband and a dad to three boys, and I grew up Copenhagen, Denmark and moved to the UK more than a decade ago. Between the family and the business, an early morning workout is still where I do my best thinking.

Career highlight

The one I am proudest of is the most recent: co-founding Nielsen & Brown and seeing our first AI agents go live in client businesses. One finance agent took two people’s daily payment chasing from around an hour and a half each to about 15 minutes. That is when AI stops being a buzzword and starts paying for itself.

From our last client engagements:

Managing Director –

“What stood out was the team’s ability to understand the business in a relatively short space of time and distil complex information into clear, structured observations. The work provided a helpful external perspective and highlighted several areas for consideration as we continue to develop the business.”

Operations Director –

“The discussions were constructive and well informed, with a strong focus on the practical drivers of operational performance. A number of the opportunities identified aligned closely with our own assessment of the business, and the process helped reinforce the importance of areas such as CRM discipline, margin visibility and cost-to-serve analysis.”

Head of IT & Systems –

“Allan and the team brought a broad range of experience and an objective perspective to the process. Many of the observations resonated with challenges and opportunities we had already identified internally, and their contribution provided a useful framework for further discussion and development.”

Name three words that describe your personality

Direct, curious, pragmatic.

What’s the best thing about pro-manchester?

The people and the introductions. As a member you are in the room with the people who run and advise Manchester businesses, and the pro-manchester team goes out of its way to connect you with the right ones. For a new business, a warm introduction from someone who knows the city is worth more than a hundred cold emails.

What are your priorities for 2026?

Three things. First, helping more leadership teams move from talking about AI to using it, with practical projects that leave something working in the business.

Second, launching our free half-day AI leadership workshops for key decision makers, built to give real value in the room rather than a sales pitch.

Third, getting our free AI Readiness Pulse Check in front of as many business leaders as possible. It takes about 20 minutes and gives you a report on where AI would earn its place in your business, and where it would not: score.nielsenandbrown.com

What do you think are the most important things going on in Manchester at the moment?

How the city’s businesses adopt AI. Manchester has a strong tech and digital scene, but most SMEs are still stuck between hearing they need to do something about AI and actually doing it. Closing that gap, practically and with sensible governance, will decide which businesses grow over the next few years and which fall behind.

Alongside that, the continued investment in the city region and its growing reputation as the place to build a business outside London.

Favourite meeting place in Manchester

A new one actually “The Junction” or a classic, Dakota “The grill”.

Are there any particular types of businesses that you would like to meet?

Leadership teams at businesses with 10 to 300 employees, particularly in manufacturing, distribution and logistics, and professional services, who know AI matters but are not sure where to start.

I would also like to meet the people who advise those businesses: accountants, lawyers, banks and investors. If your clients are asking you about AI, I would be glad to compare notes and or co-host workshops and seminar.

Get In Touch 

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 07809 230223