Senior security leadership.
Without the full-time hire.
A supplier just asked for your ISO 27001 certificate. Your cyber insurance renewal is asking questions nobody can answer. That’s the conversation we should have.
Services
What I Do
Helping organisations navigate the intersection of security, infrastructure, and intelligent automation.
How it works
Start with a conversation
30 minutes. No pitch, no sales deck. Just a frank look at where you are and whether I can help. Book a slot directly.
Discovery Audit
A structured review of your security posture, cloud configuration, and compliance position. Delivered as a prioritised report you can act on immediately — with or without me.
Ongoing engagement
Monthly retainer, scoped to what you actually need. Typically 1–2 days a week. A senior person in the room, not a junior with a framework.
Open Source
Featured Projects
Building tools and systems for the future of AI and infrastructure.
ProjectLodestar
Multi-LLM routing system that optimizes cost, capability, and availability. Routes requests across providers based on model performance and price.
Control Tower
GitHub-native control plane for AI-assisted projects. Uses GitHub as the orchestration platform—no new tools, no new dashboards.
SentinelForge
Strict governance, auditing, and observability for AI agent execution. Tracks decisions, flags drift, maintains audit trails for regulated environments.
I started in hands-on IT support and infrastructure, building up through MSP environments where I managed the technology estate for 23 large-scale clients simultaneously at IT Lab. That breadth — across sectors, sizes, and maturity levels — is where the pattern recognition comes from.
In 2019 I moved into Lily's Kitchen as embedded IT Manager through Correct Group, then directly as Head of IT following the Nestlé Purina acquisition. I've led the digital transformation strategy through that transition: hybrid cloud infrastructure, security and compliance, a £1.2m annual budget, and teams across the globe. The AI and automation work — generative AI, agentic workflows, Azure Fabric data model — is the current chapter.
I've run RichardHam.co.uk in parallel since 2014, working with SMEs and PE-backed businesses on the things that don't need a full-time hire but do need a senior person: security posture, IT leadership, compliance prep, M&A due diligence, and AI strategy. I work fractionally because it's a better model — for the businesses I help, and for me.
25+
Years of hands-on security & infrastructure leadership
40+
UK businesses secured, from Series A to listed companies
90%
Of clients renew or expand their engagement
What clients say
At HOST we specialise in placing cyber security professionals, so our own security credibility matters — both to us and to our clients. Richard helped us get our house properly in order: clear governance, a realistic picture of our risk, and practical controls that we could actually maintain. He's straight-talking, technically credible, and knows how to work with a small team without creating overhead. Exactly the kind of person we needed.
Bradley Rickman
Head of Technology Recruitment, HOST Technology Group
We're a building services business — security isn't our core focus, but that doesn't mean it isn't our problem. Richard quickly understood how we operate and gave us a clear, jargon-free picture of where we were exposed. He fixed what needed fixing and left us with something we could maintain ourselves. Practical, straightforward, and didn't overcomplicate it.
Gareth Westerby
Operations Director, Maintained Building Services
I'd always assumed proper security leadership was something larger businesses could afford and smaller ones had to make do without. Richard changed my view on that. He audited where we stood, explained it in plain English, and gave us a prioritised action list with costs attached. No scaremongering, no unnecessary complexity — just a clear picture of our actual risk and what to do about it.
Chris Benbow
Managing Director, Precise AV Ltd
Richard supported us on a sensitive technology due diligence piece as part of an M&A process. He was thorough, discreet, and delivered exactly what we needed — clear findings, well-structured, and credible to an external audience. In that kind of high-stakes context, you need someone who understands both the technical depth and the commercial stakes. Richard handles both.
Tom Sirett
Chief Digital Officer, Crosta & Mollica
Richard has been leading our work on AI and automation — generative AI, agentic workflows, and enhancing our data model using Azure Fabric. He brings a rare combination of technical depth and strategic clarity: he understands what the technology can actually do today, not just what the vendors claim, and he's able to translate that into decisions the business can act on. The work has materially changed how we operate.
Ian Wardle
CFO, Lily's Kitchen
Let's talk.
Whether you need fractional CISO leadership, a specific project, or just want to discuss an approach—I'm here to help.
Get in Touch