Founder & Principal Consultant
Gareth
Jenkins
25 years building, fixing, and scaling ambitious businesses. Now applying that experience — plus AI — to help SMEs transform their performance.
Charis AI
The Operator's Perspective
I've spent my career inside operations — running plants, managing teams, fixing things that were broken and building things that needed to exist. Chemical engineering, then consulting, then a series of roles where I was the person responsible for making the business actually work.
I've led five business turnarounds. Grown WRc from £6.5m to £12m and sold it. Doubled Projex from £4m to £8m. Kept Cognica profitable through an 18% COVID downturn by building a digital twin product. At every stage, the pattern was the same: find the waste, fix the process, free the people to do better work.
AI is the most powerful version of that pattern I've ever seen. Not because the technology is impressive — it is — but because it changes what's possible for a business with 15 or 50 or 200 people. The things that used to require headcount now require intelligence. That's a fundamentally different operating model.
Core Belief
- 01
AI is not the product
Performance is the product. AI is the accelerator.
- 02
Start with the operation
Understand how the business actually works before suggesting what to change.
- 03
Outcomes over tools
Nobody needs more software. They need less waste, more capacity, and better decisions.
Beyond One Consultant
One Point of Contact.
Global Capability.
I work as part of a global network of AI practitioners, developers, and automation specialists — people who are actively building and deploying AI systems across industries, not just talking about them.
That means access to proven frameworks, tools, and playbooks already working inside hundreds of businesses. When a project needs specialist capability — a custom integration, a complex automation, a technical build — I bring it in.
You get one trusted relationship. Behind it, the depth to deliver at whatever scale your business needs.
Track Record
Career Highlights
WRc plc — Group COO
Turnaround from crisis. Grew revenue from £6.5m to £12m. Business sold successfully.
Projex — Commercial Director
Grew from £4m to £8m. Delivered a £2.2m smart city programme.
Cognica (RSK) — Managing Director
Maintained profitability through 18% COVID downturn via digital twin product development.
Unipart Consulting — Sales Director
10 years in Lean/Operational Excellence. Clients included Shell, Rolls-Royce, BA Cargo, BAE.
Education
BSc Chemical Engineering. MBA equivalent. Executive courses at Cambridge Judge and London Business School.
Sector Expertise
Environmental, engineering, water, telecoms, defence, aerospace, logistics. Deep roots in environmental sector.
Let's Talk.
I'd rather understand your business before suggesting anything. Book a Discovery Call — it's free, and you'll leave with a clear picture.