Mario Thomas

Monthly Newsletter | July 2025

From Framework to Implementation: AI Governance in Practice

This month's newsletter features five essential articles for boards navigating AI governance. I begin with a keystone piece that integrates my three core mechanisms - the AI Stages of Adoption (AISA), the Five Pillars of AI capability, and the Well-Advised value priorities - providing a complete framework for understanding AI's unique multi-speed adoption patterns.

Following this foundational framework, I'm sharing the first four articles in my eight-part AI Centre of Excellence (AI CoE) series. These initial articles establish why boards need an AI CoE, explore the eighteen essential functions that drive AI success, demonstrate how to assess your organisation's multi-speed AI reality, and provide practical guidance on designing governance structures that work across different stages of AI maturity.

Together, these five articles move from strategic framework to practical implementation, offering boards and executives actionable guidance for establishing AI governance that balances innovation with control. The AI CoE series will continue over the coming weeks, building toward a complete roadmap for AI governance excellence.

As you explore these articles, I encourage you to try the AI CoE Simulator tool I've recently launched on my website. This practical assessment tool, which I demonstrate in the third article, helps boards understand their organisation's true AI maturity across different functions. It's freely available and provides immediate, actionable insights into your multi-speed AI reality - essential context for any AI governance initiative.

Whether you're seeking to understand AI's strategic landscape or ready to implement formal governance structures, these articles provide frameworks and tools tested with organisations worldwide. I hope you find them valuable as you navigate the complex challenge of responsible AI adoption.

-Mario

Comprehensive AI Governance Framework

A sophisticated boardroom with three interconnected holographic displays, each representing a key AI framework

A Complete AI Adoption Framework: AISA, Five Pillars, and Well-Advised

Published 1 June 2025 | 15 minute read

This keystone article explains how to integrate the AI Stages of Adoption, Five Pillars, and Well-Advised mechanisms for comprehensive AI transformation guidance. Learn how these three frameworks work together to address AI's unique multi-speed adoption patterns, providing boards with a complete approach to coordinate AI transformation whilst managing governance complexities.

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Sunrise view of a high-rise boardroom with glowing neural-network lines radiating from the conference table

Part 1: Why Boards Need an AI Centre of Excellence Now

Published 8 June 2025 | 11 minute read

Boards face millions of AI decisions per second whilst most AI pilots fail to reach production. This first article in my AI CoE series explores how an AI Centre of Excellence provides essential governance infrastructure to coordinate multi-speed AI adoption, systematically build Five Pillars capabilities, and transform ungoverned risks into strategic advantage.

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Modern office boardroom with diverse executives collaborating around AI governance displays

Part 2: The 18 Essential Functions That Drive AI Success

Published 15 June 2025 | 12 minute read

Through extensive research, I've identified eighteen core responsibilities every effective AI CoE must fulfil. This detailed exploration shows how these functions map to the Five Pillars of AI capability, providing a comprehensive framework for building governance that addresses both innovation and risk across all stages of AI maturity.

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Modern boardroom at sunset with business professionals using digital tablets to assess AI maturity

Part 3: Mapping Your Multi-Speed AI Reality

Published 22 June 2025 | 11 minute read

Most boards believe they understand their AI maturity, but multi-speed adoption tells a different story. I share the AI CoE Simulator, a practical assessment tool that operationalises the AISA framework to reveal where different functions truly stand on their AI journey and what this means for governance design.

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Modern glass-walled boardroom showing a hub-and-spoke AI governance model on a large screen

Part 4: Designing Structure for Multi-Speed Governance

Published 29 June 2025 | 12 minute read

How do you structure an AI CoE that governs everything from shadow AI experiments to enterprise transformations simultaneously? This final article explores adaptive governance models, staffing approaches, and integration patterns that enable effective oversight across different stages of AI maturity whilst avoiding common structural pitfalls.

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