What We Do
Four ways AmEliz works with boards and executive teams.
AmEliz is built around a small number of engagement types, deliberately. Each one is designed for a different kind of need, but they share the same principle: senior judgement, brought into the room where decisions are made, drawn from twenty-five years of leading in environments where the consequences were real.
01 Board & executive advisory
Independent counsel on the decisions that sit on your desk.
Description:
Most boards have a CISO, a CTO, an audit committee, a risk function. What they often lack is someone in their corner whose job it is to think with them, not for them, about the cyber, AI and resilience decisions they cannot delegate.
AmEliz works with Chairs, CEOs and executive teams as an independent voice. The work is shaped by what's on your agenda: a security incident that exposed something deeper, an AI ambition that needs governance before it scales, a regulatory shift that changes the risk profile, an investment decision that asks questions you don't yet have the language for. We bring senior judgement to those questions; the decisions remain yours.
Who it's for:
Chairs, Directors, CEOs and executive teams in regulated, mission-critical or high-growth organisations who want senior counsel without hiring a full-time executive.
How it works:
Engagements typically begin with a defined first phase: a board session, a review or a piece of structured thinking against a specific question, followed by an ongoing relationship if it's useful.
Cadence varies. Some clients see me weekly, some quarterly. The work flexes to what the agenda needs.
Engaged either as a fixed-fee project, a monthly retainer or by day-rate for ad hoc work.
02 Fractional leadership
Senior leadership, sized to what the organisation actually needs.
Description:
Some organisations need senior cyber, AI or resilience leadership but aren't ready, or don't need, to hire a full-time executive. Others need senior cover during a transition: a CISO has left, a CIO is being recruited, a board has identified a gap that needs a credible voice quickly.
Fractional engagements give organisations real senior leadership at a fraction of the commitment. We take a defined remit within the organisation, typically two to six days a month, and operate as part of the leadership team for the duration of the engagement. The work is contractually clear, properly scoped, and time-bound.
Who it's for:
Mid-market and scale-up organisations needing senior cyber, AI or resilience leadership without a full-time hire; organisations in transition between executive appointments.
How it works:
Engagements run for a defined period, typically six to twelve months, reviewed at agreed checkpoints.
Time commitment is set explicitly upfront and protected on both sides.
Charged at a monthly retainer reflecting the time commitment and the seniority of the seat.
03 Boardroom education
Structured sessions that build board confidence on the topics that matter.
Description:
Boards don't need to become technical experts in cyber, AI or resilience. They need to become confident enough to lead the conversations, to know what to ask, what good looks like, and when to push back on what they're being told. Most board members will admit, in private, that they don't yet have that confidence.
AmEliz designs and delivers structured education sessions for boards and executive teams. Sessions are not lectures and not training in the conventional sense. They are facilitated conversations, anchored in real material, designed to give participants the language and frameworks they need to engage these topics at board level, and to keep engaging with them after I've left the room.
Who it's for:
Boards and executive teams who recognise their cyber, AI or resilience conversations aren't yet where they need to be; Chairs who want to bring the rest of the board up to a shared level of confidence.
How it works:
Sessions can be single workshops, board offsites, or short programmes of several sessions across a year.
Content is built around the organisation's actual context, not generic slides.
Delivered in person or virtually. Aligned to the NCSC Cyber Governance Code of Practice where relevant.
04 Executive mentoring
Senior counsel for senior leaders growing into their seats.
Description:
Some leaders need an external thinking partner. Someone who has operated at executive level, understands the pressure, and isn't part of their internal political environment. Mentoring of this kind is different from coaching. It's peer-level support from someone who has navigated similar terrain, applied to the questions and tensions the leader is actually carrying.
Engagements are typically commissioned by a CEO or Chair on behalf of a senior leader, often a COO, CIO, CISO or a recently promoted executive, and run for a defined period. The work is strictly confidential between mentor and mentee. The role isn't to instruct or assess. It's to help the leader think more clearly, decide more confidently, and grow into the breadth of the role they hold.
Who it's for:
CEOs and Chairs investing in the development of a senior leader; senior executives navigating a step-up in responsibility, scale, or complexity.
How it works:
Engagements typically run for twelve months, with a defined cadence of sessions and retained access between them.
Front-loaded contact in the opening weeks to set the relationship; tapered as the engagement matures.
Sessions are confidential. Outcomes are agreed between mentor and mentee, not reported to the commissioning party.
How engagements typically start
An initial conversation. Usually a 45-minute call. No pitch, no obligation. The aim is to understand what you're navigating and whether AmEliz is the right fit, or whether I can point you somewhere more appropriate.
A short scoping note. If there's a fit, I'll come back with a one-page scope and a fee proposal within a week. Most engagements are agreed in a second conversation.
A defined first phase. Most engagements begin with a defined first piece of work, typically four to twelve weeks, rather than a long-term commitment. If the work earns its place, the relationship extends. If it doesn't, both sides walk away with clarity.