Rafal Bergman

The short version

Rafal Bergman (PhD, PMP, Oxford Executive Leadership) is a London-based technology executive, serial founder, and AI engineering leader. He has founded four companies, raised venture capital, built AI systems that deliver measurable business outcomes at enterprise scale, and exited all four. He is currently Director of AI Engineering at OpenAsset and works as a Fractional CTO, helping organisations close the gap between AI investment and AI results.

The full story

From research to production

Rafal began his career at the intersection of academic research and commercial application. His PhD in Computer Science focused on problems that mattered beyond the lab, and he built his first company, GeoVS, to commercialise that research. GeoVS attracted venture capital, was developed into a production product, and was ultimately sold to SRT Marine Systems in a trade sale. That arc, from research idea to VC-backed startup to successful exit, shaped how he thinks about technology: it has to work in the real world, not just in a presentation.

Building for global enterprise

After GeoVS, Rafal moved into enterprise-scale technology leadership at Improbable, the unicorn simulation technology company (£3B+ valuation) known for its work with NATO, the MoD, and the Royal Navy. Building platforms that operate in 30+ countries, at defence-grade reliability, develops a different kind of engineering rigour. You learn that architecture decisions made at day 100 determine whether you succeed at day 1,000.

His time at IBM and later work at Hong Kong Polytechnic University added international range: cross-cultural technology leadership and delivery in highly regulated, high-stakes environments.

Building and exiting companies

After GeoVS, Rafal co-founded Codiance, a software engineering agency delivering digital transformation projects and building new products. He exited via trade sale to a co-founder to pursue new opportunities. He then joined IQDEV as VP of Software Engineering, leading digital and AI transformation consulting for clients across the UK, Europe, and USA, securing innovation grants and building a proprietary no-code AI platform, before exiting that venture too.

These weren't side projects. Each was a business built, operated, and sold. Four exits across different technology contexts means the lessons are pattern-level, not anecdotal.

The AdBrain chapter: AI in production

At AdBrain AI, Rafal co-founded and led the engineering of an agentic AI system that became one of the most concrete examples of AI delivering measurable commercial outcomes. The system, built for one of Europe's largest insurance brokerages, handled end-to-end customer case management autonomously. Not routing. Not suggestions. Full resolution. The results: 67% of cases resolved without human intervention, and a 23% improvement in sales KPIs from AI-powered opportunity identification. AdBrain was also a winner of the Innovate UK Creative Catalyst national grant (2023), selected from hundreds of applicants. AdBrain was Rafal's fourth successful exit.

This is the kind of AI leadership that separates him from most advisors in this space: not strategy decks, not vendor evaluations, but production systems that move business metrics.

Public sector at scale

As CTO at NHS Wales, Rafal led technology transformation at national scale. A 300-strong technical organisation responsible for digital innovation and a strategic portfolio of national products underpinning healthcare delivery. He redefined product management and contracting approaches, delivering £28M+ in annual savings. He also served as Technical Lead for the Welsh Government Commission for AI in Health & Social Care, creating the national AI adoption strategy.

Interim CTO

At Mentor360, Rafal stepped in as Interim CTO after an unexpected senior technical departure. The scenario every funded startup dreads. He stabilised the engineering team, secured a Royal Navy contract, and guided the product through a technically demanding period. That engagement is the closest real-world analogue to what a Fractional CTO engagement looks like.

Now: the CTO who makes AI actually work

Today, Rafal works with organisations stuck in the gap between AI investment and AI results, from post-Seed startups with teams of 5 to PE-backed organisations with 500 employees stuck in pilot purgatory.

The common thread: they need someone who has built production AI systems, not someone who recommends them from a slide deck.

He does this alongside his role at OpenAsset, taking selective fractional engagements with a clear path toward full-time advisory.

Credentials

Qualifications & recognition

• PhD, Computer Science, foundational research commercialised into two products
• Oxford Executive Leadership Programme, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• NVIDIA-Certified AI Professional, Generative AI and production ML systems
• National Project of the Year, Kingdom of Bahrain (2016), awarded by His Majesty the King for the Maritime Domain Management System
• Innovate UK Creative Catalyst Grant Winner (2023), nationally selected
• Expert Witness, Hong Kong High Court (analytical rigour under legal scrutiny)
• Patents: Display System (US, GB, EU)
• >£400M in commercial value across ventures and products I've built or led

Beyond the work

Rafal was born in Poland, has worked across Europe, Asia, and globally, and is based in London. He holds an advanced sailing licence, a pursuit that rewards decisive judgement under uncertainty, which maps well to the decisions founders face every week. He speaks Polish and English fluently.

He is building toward full-time independent advisory and takes a limited number of engagements at any given time.

Work with Rafal

Get in touch. No obligation. Just a conversation about where you are and whether there's a fit.