Navigating AI: A Guide for Company Secretaries and Boards

Terri Le Couteur is the founder of TLC Governance Solutions Limited (tlcgovernancesolutions.co.uk), her independent consultancy where she provides governance consultancy, specialised AI governance support, and bespoke governance training. With a distinguished career spanning over 30 years, Terri is also a recognised thought leader in governance, strategy, and AI governance. A Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute and holding a Master's in Corporate Governance, Terri is a go-to expert in corporate governance, compliance, and board dynamics. She excels at equipping boards, executives, and governance professionals with the practical tools and insights needed to navigate regulatory compliance, risk management, and effective governance in today's complex landscape. Her training is known for being insightful, impactful, and directly applicable, helping organisations significantly enhance their governance frameworks and leadership effectiveness. Terri's extensive experience encompasses various jurisdictions, including the UK, Jersey, Guernsey, the Cayman Islands, BVI, and Ireland, across diverse sectors such as Banking, Funds (private equity, infrastructure, real estate, debt), Trust, and Private Wealth. She also possesses considerable expertise with listed entities on both the UK's AIM and full markets and TISE along with those in other international jurisdictions. Her impressive professional background includes serving as the named Company Secretary for leading banks and fund administrators, acting as a Director on numerous client vehicles for both global and smaller firms, and providing advisory services to regulatory and professional bodies. As a professional trainer, Terri is dedicated to making governance accessible, practical, and meaningful, free of jargon and box-ticking.

Laura has over 20 years’ experience of operating in a variety of Company Secretary roles for FTSE100 and FTSE250 organisations, most recently as Group Company Secretary at Elementis plc (FTSE250). Aside from leading company secretarial teams, she has significant experience in the boardroom, corporate transactions, risk, insurance, sustainability, diversity & inclusion and has served as a pension trustee. She has built strong relationships with Board members, executive management teams and other stakeholders, and is a Governance HOT100 winner – Board influencer category. Laura founded The CoSec Coach in September 2022, a coaching and consultancy business which aims to transform company secretarial and governance functions. In addition to the coaching programmes, The CoSec Coach also offers bespoke training, team away days, project support, consultancy and mentoring. Laura is also founder and director of The CoSec Recruitment Company, a specialist recruitment agency for company secretaries and governance professionals.

Harmeen Brenner-Birk is the founder of Across The Board AI, a generative AI consultancy supporting financial services organisations in implementing AI responsibly and strategically. With over 20 years of experience in finance—including leadership roles at Citi, Lloyds, and Standard Chartered—Harmeen specialises in AI governance, operating models, risk and compliance, and establishing AI Centres of Excellence. At Citi, she led global initiatives to embed ethical AI practices, prioritise high-impact use cases, and develop robust risk evaluation frameworks. A two-time founder, Harmeen previously built and successfully exited Zenkai Consulting, delivering strategic transformation across 83 countries and generating multimillion-pound growth. Harmeen is a regular speaker at AI and financial services conferences, mentors technology founders, and actively supports fintech and female entrepreneurship initiatives worldwide.