Fjord Qudra One Year On...

Fjord Qudra Managing Partner/Co-Founder Clint Sookermany recently caught up with Co-Founder Pat Halford to reflect on the last year at Fjord Qudra, and what’s coming next with AI.

Pat: Remember Dubai in Feb of ‘24? You called, said you had a wild idea for Leadership teams. A new type of Executive capability for the market.

Clint: Indeed! AI was coming fast. We needed to vector in. Direction, speed, impact—everything at once.

Pat: Since then we’ve got ten‑times the firepower for running a business. Not just us. Everyone! I want your read on what’s next—and how you keep up. First, what lights the fuse for you?

Clint: Watching leaders rip out old wiring and build around AI. Not just code—mind‑set. For example Gamma, Shopify. Tobias Lütke, from Shopify recently told his crew: try every AI play before hiring someone. Nicolai Tangen at NBIM; another key influencer. Smart. You?

Pat: I’m hooked on squeezing more out of what a company already pays for. Let the SME teams and individuals off the leash with AI. Within appropriate guardrails. Which change. Plug AI into every workflow, abstract away complexity, friction and orthodoxy, track the gains, roll them back into R&D. Thirty‑percent jumps stack quick. Unlocking new capacity, capabilities and discoveries within the existing budget. My brain’s as wired round a P&L as the tech itself.

Clint: Changes the whole buy‑or‑build game.

Pat: Exactly. When you’re cranking performance, maybe you skip the merger. Skip the debt.

Clint: Best time ever to run an SME. Cheap, endless AI. OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, xAI—new drops every week. Most CEOs barely scratch the surface.

Pat: Board Members too. Thoughts?

Clint: Right, Directors juggle seats, industries, multiple threats and opportunities. Our “Board Challenger” and “Dojo” have worked because we throw them into live fire. Hands on, no theory.

Pat: Red Team, Blue Team!

Clint: Right. They see their blind spots fast.

Pat: And the ground shifts daily.

Clint: Precisely. Last week ChatGPT rolled out shopping. Big upside for new revenue, plus it cuts middlemen. This is more profound than people realise. Claude dropped fresh hooks the same day. Leaders have to be AI‑native now or drown.

Pat: Jep, we huddle twice a day. I ask the AI before I ask you.

Clint: Same. It lets us spin projects up—and kill them—before lunch. That’s why our “Leadership Challenger” hit with PE funds and Family Offices: they need AI across the whole portfolio. And need to be able to harness AI to get a handle on valuation of future targets.

Pat: You’re based in London, near the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry where we are members. And you’re deep into fintech regulatory circles—blockchain, smart contracts, tokens. How fast’s that river?

Clint: Rapids. London’s perfect: sets the standards, feeds our European and Gulf push.

Pat: And recently we announced a strategic merger with Amplifai in Norway that took us to the next level.

Clint: Yes! Bård, Daniel, Imran and Erik—all company builders. Clients and influencers noticed day one.

Pat: That was a fast mover.

Clint: Yep, fastest deal in Nordic history probably!

Pat: Time’s up. Last word for SME CEOs?

Clint: You’ve never had this much power, this cheap. It’s on your phone, in your mic. Forget pre‑2023 rules. Lead with AI and empower your teams to do the same!

Pat: Agreed. AI de-risks risky bets.