About Us

At Darkonium AI, Nick brings decades of boots-on-the-ground manufacturing leadership to ensure our virtual optimisations survive the reality of the factory floor. He focuses on:

• Translating digital twin simulations into concrete scale-up roadmaps—aligning CAPEX plans, facility design, and equipment selection for both greenfield and brownfield sites.
• Guiding "MVP to Manufacturing" transitions, ensuring AI-optimised production runs hit their KPI targets for throughput, quality, and cost without costly physical trial-and-error.
• Embedding sustainable operations into the physical build—using simulation data to drive lean processes, heat and water recovery, and strict energy efficiency targets.
• Navigating complex global regulatory landscapes (including FDA, EU, ATEX, and DSEAR) so that automated and optimised production lines remain compliant and audit-ready from day one.

Nick’s extensive background includes over 18 years at Nestlé and Cereal Partners Worldwide (General Mills), where he led the end-to-end delivery of high-stakes capital projects. Notable achievements include directing a $150M greenfield nutrition facility in Indonesia and heading the construction of a highly regulated medical nutrition plant in Germany.

From his early days as an electrical maintenance apprentice at Vauxhall Motors to creating and managing a greenfield coffee manufacturing company in Vietnam, Nick has built, automated, and scaled production lines across Europe and Asia, consistently delivering on time and within budget.

At Darkonium AI, he plays a pivotal role in enabling our digital twin and AI-optimisation solutions to deliver measurable impact:

• Helping define & validate KPI-driven optimisation goals (throughput, waste, energy, downtime) during early-phase modelling.
• Advising on risk & lifecycle management — understanding regulatory, manufacturing, and operational constraints so that models are realistic, compliant, and deployable.
• Designing technical & commercial project plans: laying out how to move from readiness assessments → virtual twin + pilot → full-scale rollout.
• Ensuring the solutions are not just "lab-grade" but production-practical: maintaining alignment with Darkonium’s mission of real factory deployments that reduce cost, energy, and inefficiencies.

Andrew has delivered leadership roles and consulting engagements for leading organisations including Cavendish Nuclear, United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory, Terrestrial Energy, and Nuvia.

At Darkonium AI, Alexandra bridges the gap between R&D and full market launch, applying digital twin insights to de-risk and optimise highly regulated production environments. She focuses on:

• Driving operational excellence by integrating AI models with lean methodologies like DMAIC and SMED to optimise OEE, improve yield, and reduce costs.
• Translating digital process simulations into robust tech transfer and scale-up strategies for precision fermentation, probiotics, and functional ingredients.
• Validating CAPEX investments and operational optimisations, drawing on her experience leading structural initiatives that delivered €2M in cost savings and €10M in revenue growth.
• Ensuring manufacturing readiness and strict quality compliance, including GLP and Halal standards, across complex global supply chains and CMO networks.

Alexandra’s extensive background spans senior leadership roles at Novozymes / Novonesis and over 14 years at Nestlé and Nestlé Health Science. She has successfully guided multiple global launches from the pilot stage to market scale, combining strategic operational insight with hands-on technical execution to deliver lasting results.

At Darkonium AI, he helps ensure our digital twin and AI-optimisation work lands where it matters most — in the boardroom and on the factory floor:

• Framing optimisation and resilience projects in language that boards, investors, and finance teams recognise — capex/opex, payback, and risk — so Industry 4.0 programmes get approved, not parked.
• Drawing on deep engineering and defence-sector experience to challenge assumptions, de-risk delivery, and align solutions with real-world constraints in complex, regulated environments.
• Designing go-to-market and engagement approaches that fit mid-sized and larger manufacturers: from first diagnostic twin → pilot → multi-site rollout, with clear governance and accountability.
• Helping shape operating models and commercial structures so that high-tech innovation (digital twins, AI solvers, automation) becomes a scalable service line rather than a one-off experiment.

Toby’s background spans hands-on complex avionics and systems engineering design and integration roles through to Managing Director, CEO, and now Board Advisor. His experience has been gained working with OEMs including BAE SYSTEMS, Leonardo, Boeing, Thales, MBDA, General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin. His software product and consulting experience relates to companies acquired by Capgemini Engineering, PTC and KBR amongst others.

At Darkonium AI, he leads client engagements from concept to deployment, ensuring digital twins and AI optimisers deliver real impact:

• Advised global clients including BMW and Siemens on digital transformation, optimisation, and data-driven decision making.
• Paid consultant and registered assessor for UKRI and the UKSA, trusted to evaluate and shape high-impact innovation projects.
• Delivered two Horizon Europe programmes and two Innovate UK projects, applying simulation and AI to real-world industrial challenges.
• Guides teams through live modelling, KPI setting, and shift optimisation — balancing throughput, energy, cost, and downtime.
• Applies deep expertise in simulation and spatial intelligence (manufacturing, logistics, security, insurance, transport, maritime) to resolve bottlenecks and disruptions.
• Bridges strategy with hands-on deployment — supporting leadership, engineers, and operators so solutions work in practice, not just on paper.

At Darkonium AI, Richard leverages his expertise as a trusted technology subject matter expert and change lead to bridge the gap between advanced digital modelling and shop floor execution. He focuses on:

• Managing end-to-end project delivery, encompassing budget management, cost control, and risk management. He ensures digital twin implementations achieve continuous improvement and targeted cost reductions.
• Navigating ambiguous, complex, and politically sensitive environments. He builds consensus among disparate teams, suppliers, and senior management to drive the delivery of complex projects.
• Applying 5S and Lean manufacturing principles alongside root cause analysis. This approach optimises manufacturing processes, speeds up production times, and reduces quality non-conformances.
• Overseeing complex machinery installations, capital expenditure (CAPEX) upgrades, and Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT). He ensures strict compliance with health, safety, and regulatory standards, including ATEX.

Richard's track record includes managing multi-million-pound projects and delivering technical, operational, and strategic support for leading organisations such as Eaton, L3Harris Technologies, GE Aerospace, Astrium, and the supply chains for Rolls Royce and Airbus.

At Darkonium AI, Erika ensures every engagement ties engineering outcomes to commercial value, so pilots scale with confidence rather than faith. She focuses on:

• Translating shop-floor signals into KPI targets (downtime, waste, energy, throughput) and business cases that justify investment.
• Building cost/benefit and cash-flow models across CAPEX/OPEX, pricing, and risk — aligning twin scenarios with measurable savings and implementation roadmaps.
• Designing demand, inventory and production simulations that stress-test resilience to shocks and supply variability before changes hit the real line.
• Packaging results for stakeholders — clear narratives, assumptions, and sensitivity checks that turn complex analytics into confident decisions.

Her background spans automation and its commercial application, plus European “Factories of the Future” work within 5G-VICTORI — giving her practical context for data-rich industrial environments and cross-site operations. Earlier roles include Managing Director for an Eastern-European homeware distribution firm.

Education: Budapest College of Management — B.A. (Non-Profit/Public/Organisational Management). UK-qualified bookkeeper.

In her words: "Data is just the beginning — it's the economic application that decides success or failure."

Across the COVID period Adam led major healthcare restructuring — working within a ~6,000-strong workforce and redesigning multiple teams (often cut by up to 80%) while maintaining operational readiness and service quality. He is a specialist in translating simulation insight into structures, roles and rhythms that stick. He focuses on:

• Designing Target Operating Models and workforce plans that align people, process and data to throughput, quality, cost and energy KPIs.
• Selling change at every layer — from board and unions to frontline teams — with clear decision rights, lean forums and cadence (stand-ups, reviews, benefits tracking).
• Standing up programme governance that ties CAPEX/OPEX moves to verified outcomes, with benefits cases and dashboards executives trust.
• De-risking live transitions in complex environments (national health, science hubs, large infrastructure) with minimal service disruption.
• Building people-performance analytics that convert operational signals into confident, evidence-led decisions.

Relevant experience includes organisational change on construction and science-hub programmes, People/OD leadership for Public Health England and the UK Health Security Agency, and cost/operating-model work with the Ministry of Defence — embedding decision velocity, resilient services and measurable savings.

Approach: co-create with those who live the change; make trade-offs explicit; keep rhythms simple and relentless; track outcomes and leave the organisation stronger.

At Darkonium AI, James embeds security-by-design so digital twins and AI optimisers deploy safely and deliver measurable uptime:

• Logistics: led multi-site tech/services at ONEPOST—sortation/WMS, ERP links, SLAs, and data protection as DPO.
• Scale ops: Amazon Logistics exposure to barcode/scan flow, routing accuracy, and throughput pacing.
• Industrial: earlier oil & gas IT/systems engineering (OT/IT reliability, network hardening, controlled patching).
• Security & compliance: Dyson & Computershare—ISMS (ISO/IEC 27001), GDPR/UK DPA, supplier assurance, audits.
• Resilience: incident response playbooks, least-privilege, change/release tied to downtime and quality KPIs.

James helps ensure clients don't face a JLR-style cyber shutdown—the kind that forced weeks of halted production and a UK-backed £1.5bn loan guarantee to stabilise the supply chain.

At Darkonium AI, Karolis leverages his academic rigour and practical industry background to bridge complex data analysis with shop-floor execution. He focuses on:

• Mathematical Modelling & Optimisation: Applying advanced analytical techniques to support the development of digital twins, helping to identify throughput bottlenecks and translate complex datasets into actionable process efficiencies.
• Grounding AI in Reality: Drawing on frontline experience in frozen food manufacturing to ensure virtual models accurately reflect the physical constraints, pacing, and environmental challenges of cold-chain production lines.
• Strategic Problem Solving: Utilising analytical frameworks developed through strategic consulting to align technical solutions with measurable business KPIs and operational objectives.
• Process & Documentation Alignment: Bringing rigorous attention to detail from corporate administrative environments to support project delivery, data governance, and smooth operational workflows.

Karolis is currently completing his BSc in Mathematics at the University of Bristol. His unique perspective stems from a blend of academic theory and practical, boots-on-the-ground experience working multiple summers in frozen food manufacturing—giving him a firsthand understanding of the very production environments that Darkonium optimises. Alongside his studies and administrative experience at Jakemans, he has served as a consultant for 180 Degrees Consulting, where he honed his ability to deliver impact-driven, strategic solutions for clients.