Turn AI investment into AI returns by raising your AI-Q

You bought the licences and expected a step change in productivity. Instead AI adoption is patchy, the gains are invisible, and your people are quietly working the way they always did.

My keynotes, workshops and advisory work boost the mindsets, abilities and practices among your leaders and teams, so you can turn AI access into AI capability.

Athena Peppes works with senior leaders who want to boost their AI-Quotient, helping them close the gap between AI investment and AI returns.

She serves as Director at Beacon Thought Leadership, a thought-leadership advisory firm, and as adviser at BossUp.AI, a company building AI readiness metrics. She advises, writes, and speaks about emerging technologies, especially Artificial Intelligence, and how they are reshaping economies, work, and leadership. She is the author of “AI-Q: The New Leadership Imperative for the Human+AI Era” (Practical Inspiration Publishing, 2027).

Athena has more than 15 years advising senior executives across industries and spent over a decade at Accenture, working with Fortune 500 companies and public institutions.

She is also a sought-after speaker at international conferences and leadership forums, with appearances at SXSW, the Global Marketing Summit, KIMRA, Rialto’s Board Briefing series and her audiences include senior leaders from BT, Bupa, Centrica, EY, Nationwide, Primark, Virgin, and UKgovernment.

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Advisory

Strategic Advisory * Economic Modelling * AI-Q Audits

Speaking

Keynotes * Seminars * Panels * Media * Podcasts

Discover how you can boost your own AI-Q

AI-Q: The new leadership imperative for the Human + AI era

Organizations around the world are already spending billions on AI technology, yet only one in five AI investments deliver measurable ROI.

The opportunity of AI is clear. Yet what is also clear is that AI brings new challenges, that even leaders with decades of experience have not faced before. Think of AI agents and how their increasing presence blurs responsibility in ways previous automation never did. Leaders need new approaches that reflect the new set of challenges they face: how can we make decisions without the complete picture? How can we measure the ROI of AI investment? How can we lead when leadership is no longer about having all the answers? I propose a new way to lead in the human…

“Athena offers a timely and honest take on why a more robust kind of leadership is needed to unlock value from the very technology that is challenging the core of human intelligence.

AI-Q is how leaders take charge of building their organisation’s future collective intelligence.”

Dr. Vedrana Savic, A/Professor at Deakin Business School, and Managing Director, Taurus Strategic Advisory

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“Athena is a forward thinker, who is able to translate complex ideas into accessible and relevant insights for business. Not only does she bring a top class research and strategic foresight skillset, Athena is one of those people that it is always a delight to work with. If you are ever lucky enough to work with her, you’ll find out for yourself.”

Jess Majekodunmi, Managing Director, Accenture

“Her ability to distil trends and topics into an insightful, timely assessment into the future of the industry left our team energized and motivated and set the tone for our corporate meetings by translating insights into tangible strategic implications. Attendee feedback was very positive, and her keynote received a rating of 4.6 out of 5 for being ‘interesting, relevant with clear messaging’.”

Steve Cumming, Director of Strategy & Planning, MEDA

“AI:Q is an absolute must read for anyone looking to navigate the transition to the human plus AI era. What sets this book apart is its unwavering focus on the human element – the message is clear – the human element remains vital. It shows how organisations can build genuine capability by elevating people, not replacing them. Clear, actionable and grounded in real-world insight, an essential read for modern leaders.”

Chris Miles, CEO, Verve Recruitment

“Smart, commercially grounded and genuinely engaging. Highly recommend booking her for events, leadership teams or company sessions if you want someone who can make people properly think.”

Paul Armstrong, CEO, TBD Group and TBD Conference

“We asked Athena to speak at our AI event for financial services leaders based on her invaluable insights from interviewing leaders for her book. She was outstanding at sharing relevant stories and shifting perspectives on the role we play as humans in the advancement and adoption of AI.”

Andy Ayim MBE, "AI, Humans and the Future of Financial Services" host