About
Brian Kennedy
Strategic Execution Partner
34+
Years in technology & business
20+
Years at board & C-suite level
Founder of BnK Consulting and creator of the SMART Execution™ methodology. Where strategy meets execution.
Background
Over 34 years I have led transformation, innovation, and product initiatives across global and growth-stage organisations - from EMEA enterprise boardrooms to government departments to ambitious startups.
My work lives at the intersection of strategy, technology, AI, and execution. I don't believe in strategy that stays in a slide deck. The only strategy worth having is one that gets executed - and executed well.
That conviction led me to develop the SMART Execution™ methodology - a three-phase framework of Alignment, Evidence, and Execution that closes the gap between intent and results.
I work with founders, C-suite executives, and public sector leaders who need a trusted, outcome-driven partner - someone who combines strategic depth with hands-on delivery.
Career
BnK Consulting
Consultant & Founder
Ex-CIO specialising in digital transformation, AI, innovation and product/service development and delivery. Applying SMART Execution to align stakeholders, accelerate delivery, and embed results into business-as-usual.
Expleo Ireland
Head of Digital & Innovation
Led development of the Digital and Innovation Consultancy practice. Built new service offerings from concept to commercial deployment - including ProtectUS (Patent Pending). Grew team to 4 consultants and €1M revenue in year 3.
Doosan Bobcat
EMEA CIO
Full P&L and leadership responsibility for the EMEA IT organisation ($20M budget, $3.5B business). Led Global ERP consolidation ($19M), delivered $20M revenue uplift via Digital/IoT strategy, and reduced IT OPEX from $20M to $13M over 4 years.
Doosan
EMEA IT Manager
Formalised IT team and ITIL processes across the EMEA region. Delivered IT availability improvement from 94.6% to 99.97%, a 21% SLA improvement and 11% OPEX reduction in year one.
Mitel
Programme Manager
Reporting to the Head of Global IT Service at a listed Canadian Multinational and leading global provider of enterprise communications solutions and services.
Lake Communications
IT Manager
Reporting to the CFO. Built the IT function. Accountable for 24/7 global IT services and programs with an annual budget of €2M.
Education
Innovation & Design Thinking
MIT & Emeritus
Digital Strategies for Business
Columbia Business School
Business Management
IMI
Electronic Engineering
TU Dublin
Certifications
Advanced AI (2026)
AI Engineer (2025)
ISO Lead Auditor
Agile & Product Management
Prince2 Practitioner
Executive Coach (ICF-aligned)
GDPR Practitioner
ITIL Foundation
Awards
Best Innovation - Bonkers.ie Awards 2022
Best Innovation in CX - Irish CX Awards 2022
Methodology
SMART Execution™
A proprietary three-phase framework for closing the Execution Gap - the space between a strategy that exists and results that don't, yet.
Alignment
Genuine consensus before any resource is committed
- Stakeholder clarity
- Problem worth solving defined
- Political friction eliminated
- Objectives unambiguous
Evidence
Validation replaces assumption
- Structured research & experiments
- Rapid prototyping
- Desirability, feasibility, viability
- Proof - not opinion
Execution
Validated solutions move into production
- Agile, hands-on delivery
- Commercial contracts
- Live products & pipelines
- Transformed operating models
Ready to see what's possible?
Start with a quick AI generated POV analysis, or book a free 1-hour discovery call with a senior consultant. No commitment, no sales pitch.