Ed Dowding

AI-Powered Transformation Leader | Innovation Strategist | Systems Thinker

me@eddowding.com | linkedin.com/in/eddowding

Entrepreneurial executive driving measurable business growth through AI innovation and digital transformation. I enter when systems are fragmented, capital is constrained, and speed to revenue matters – building data-driven platforms that compress cycle times by >80% and unlock explosive growth. Passionate about leveraging technology to solve urgent environmental and societal challenges at planetary scale.

Professional Experience

South Pole — Associate Director, Solution Owner | May 2023 – Present

Architected enterprise e-commerce solution in 3 months post-80% headcount reduction, driving 200% turnover growth and 120x increase in orders
Pioneered AI support system adopted company-wide, dramatically improving customer success efficiency and cutting response times
Led market intelligence transformation, replacing disbanded insights team with a distributed, AI-augmented model; delivered weekly actionable insights via Power BI and custom-built tools
Built AI-powered Data Concierge, enabling non-technical teams to self-serve complex queries, improving data access and decision speed
Developed APEX platform, surfacing buyer and project trends from internal and 3rd-party data, accelerating deal-making and project portfolio alignment

Ecosystem Marketplace — Head of Product Innovation | Feb 2022 – Apr 2023

Created first real-time market intelligence platform for voluntary carbon market with enhanced MRV transparency
Built trust signals into reporting platform, reducing verification time by 90% while improving data integrity
Leveraged non-profit status to champion quality metrics that became industry benchmarks

Previous Ventures & Leadership Roles | 2011 – 2022

Represent.me (Founder/CEO): Created novel civic insights platform, processing 1.2M votes
FoodTrade (Founder/CEO): Reimagined broken food supply chains – “This technology could transform food networks” (spoiler alert: it didn’t!) — HRH Prince Charles
CitySafe (Product Owner): United 33 disparate emergency services onto a new platform in 30 months
Global Fund Media (Interim COO): Entered crisis situation, achieved 900% engagement increase through rapid digitalisation

Key Achievements

Consistently delivered 80%+ cycle time compression across multiple industries and challenges
Built trust infrastructure for carbon markets during critical scrutiny period
Keynote speaker for HRH Prince Charles, TEDx, House of Lords on systems transformation
World-record: fastest dragon-boat English Channel crossing (£100K for charity)

Education

Edinburgh University — Psychology, Criminology, AI

Skills & Expertise