Senior AI and technology executive with 25+ years helping organisations make confident, high-impact decisions on where to invest — and where not to. PhD in Computational Linguistics (AI), with deep technical credibility across LLMs/RAG, intelligent automation and cloud architecture (AWS / Azure / GCP). Drives an average 25% reduction in time-to-production for AI capabilities. Founder & CEO of Core Ventures and First AI Movers; CAIO & Co-Founder of Tarucca.
Hernani is a Netherlands-based AI and technology executive with 25+ years' experience helping organisations make confident, high-impact decisions on where to invest — and where not to. He steps in as advisor or interim lead to drive AI-enabled transformation across functions, from strategy to operating model to delivery. He supports leadership teams to de-risk AI programmes through governance-first frameworks, clear roadmaps and practical execution that delivers measurable outcomes — cycle-time reduction, cost-out, and revenue impact — with an average 25% decrease in time-to-production for AI capabilities.
With a PhD in Computational Linguistics (AI) and deep technical credibility across LLMs/RAG for knowledge workflows, intelligent automation for RevOps and cloud architecture for scalable deployment (AWS / Azure / GCP), he bridges board-level priorities with real delivery constraints. His style is human-centred and diagnostic: identify the real blocker, align decision-makers fast, and build the system that makes progress stick.
Alongside client work, Hernani is Founder & CEO of Core Ventures (a governance-led AI venture studio for European SMEs), Founder & CEO of First AI Movers (AI thought leadership platform), and CAIO & Co-Founder of Tarucca (AI-driven predictive maintenance and digital twins for renewables). Client work is delivered under clear engagement scopes, with conflict-managed governance and no vendor lock-in.
Most AI consultants have one. Hernani has all three: the PhD-level technical depth in Computational Linguistics (AI), the 25+ year senior leadership track record across LLMs, automation and cloud, and the hard delivery metric that matters — an average 25% reduction in time-to-production for AI capabilities. The combination is rare — and exactly what boards need when AI has to land as outcomes, not theatre.
Hernani's portfolio is unusual: he is currently Founder & CEO of two ventures, Co-Founder & CAIO of a third, and Senior Consultant at Grant & Graham — concurrently. The pattern is rare among AI advisors and exactly the reason boards trust him to call investment decisions.
Most AI consultants stick to one or two sectors. Hernani has shipped AI capability across four very different industries — and currently runs three of his own ventures. Cross-domain pattern recognition that only depth-of-experience can deliver.
Hernani's offering covers the full AI investment-to-execution arc — from investment readiness and governance, through strategy-to-roadmap, intelligent automation and AI systems enablement, into executive advisory and venture building. All grounded in PhD-level technical depth and 25+ years of cross-sector AI delivery.
Clarifies what's worth funding, what isn't, and why — turning uncertainty into decision-grade options, business cases, and a sequenced investment roadmap that boards can actually defend.
Builds governance frameworks, risk classification, controls and audit-ready documentation — so AI can scale safely and credibly across the organisation, with EU AI Act readiness built in from day one.
Translates ambition into a practical plan: outcomes, operating model, capability gaps, build/buy decisions and delivery plan that can actually be executed — not a slide deck that becomes shelfware.
Designs pragmatic automation and AI system patterns — agents, RAG, workflows, tooling — that reduce friction and convert ideas into shipped capability across LLMs, knowledge workflows and RevOps.
Supports founders and leadership teams with strategic guidance, positioning, team building and venture-style delivery to accelerate time-to-value — informed by his three currently-active founded ventures.
If you need AI to create business value — without taking on unnecessary risk — Hernani brings a rare mix of governance-first thinking, technical depth and executive-level decision support. Particularly effective when organisations are stuck between hype and hesitation: unclear use cases, scattered pilots, compliance anxiety, or competing stakeholder agendas.
Most AI consultants are either deeply technical OR senior. Hernani is both. PhD in Computational Linguistics (AI) plus 25+ years across LLMs/RAG, intelligent automation and cloud architecture. Speaks engineering to engineers; speaks delivery risk to boards.
Where most AI consultants chase pilots and demos, Hernani builds governance into the foundation — EU AI Act readiness, risk classification, audit-ready documentation, and a 25% reduction in time-to-production. Less theatre, more shipped.
HealthTech, LegalTech, FinTech, FashionTech, EnergyTech, EdTech. Cross-domain pattern recognition only depth-of-experience can deliver — plus three currently-active founded ventures, so the venture-builder lens isn't theoretical.
A senior AI governance, investment readiness and venture-building consultant with PhD-level technical depth, 25+ years of cross-sector AI delivery, and a 25% average reduction in time-to-production behind him — available for EU and international engagements at scale.
Hernani's career arc runs from NLP Data Scientist at Elsevier, through tech leadership at Kaios.ai and Director of AI & Engineering at Lalaland.ai, into multiple co-founder and CTO/CIO/CAIO seats across Experdata, Bondify, InGenius and Tarucca, and now into three founded ventures and senior consultancy at Grant & Graham. Eleven roles, six sectors, one consistent pattern: AI shipped, governance-first, outcomes measured.
Contact Hernani for senior advisory in AI & technology investment readiness, AI governance and EU AI Act compliance, AI strategy and roadmapping, and board-level decision support. He helps leadership teams de-risk AI initiatives, prioritise the right investments, and move from experimentation to measurable, defensible outcomes.
Particularly effective where organisations are stuck between hype and hesitation — with governance built in from day one and a focus on outcomes over theatre.
Download CV → LinkedIn profileIf you are evaluating AI investments, building EU AI Act readiness, designing an AI governance framework, translating strategy into shipped capability, embedding intelligent automation, or building an AI venture — tell us in 25 minutes what you need. Hernani or one of our 40+ senior consultants will tell you honestly whether we can help.