Dr Matt Wilkinson
Marketing strategist and AI commercialisation specialist. I help technically complex companies turn AI investment into commercial capability that boards, sceptics, and revenue lines can all defend.
About
Matt Wilkinson believes the customer belongs at the centre of every commercial decision. Holding them there is the hard part.
The buyer gets researched once, then slowly fades from view. Internal reviews, approval chains, and competing priorities pull the work away from the person it was meant to serve. Matt calls this organisational gravity, and it erodes buyer-centric thinking inside even the most disciplined companies.
Synthetic customers are how he keeps the buyer present. Built from real voice-of-customer evidence, they let teams interrogate buyer perspective at any stage of a commercial process, long after the original research has faded from memory. The buyer stays in the loop.
Matt is a marketing strategist first. He works at the intersection of science, technology, and commercial growth, and he adopts and builds with AI faster than most of his field. That blend of deep domain fluency and early AI craft is what turns buyer insight into commercial outcomes that survive internal scrutiny.
He holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Bristol, an MBA from Cranfield School of Management, and the BSI AI Management Practitioner qualification (ISO/IEC 42001:2023), one of a small number of practitioners globally to hold that credential. He writes for Forbes under the byline The AI Marketing Scientist and is the author of The Buyer in the Loop (coming soon).
In 2026 he was named to Marketing Week's CX50 for the life sciences sector, its annual recognition of leaders in customer experience.
Where the marketing started
Matt's first marketing campaign happened before he called himself a marketer. As a researcher at the University of Amsterdam, he watched the chemistry department struggle to recruit undergraduates. His answer was a fireworks lecture: liquid oxygen cooled through nitrogen, paramagnetism made visible, and a series of controlled explosions that left a scorch mark on the lecture theatre ceiling that is reportedly still there.
The building survived. Recruitment exploded. The incoming cohort more than doubled.
That was the lesson that shaped everything after it. A scientific idea is only as good as the audience you can make care about it. Matt spent the next two decades turning that instinct into a discipline, through science journalism, an MBA at Cranfield, and senior marketing roles in genomics and life science tools, before founding Strivenn.
Where I work
Strivenn
AI marketing and commercial strategy consultancy for life science tools, reagents, instruments, diagnostics, and SaaS companies. Builders of PersonaAI, the synthetic customer intelligence platform used by tier 1 life science companies.
Visit Strivennneurocollective
Leading go-to-market strategy for enterprise clients turning AI investment into organisational capability through AI Adoption Engineering. Specialist work with executive teams in regulated industries.
Visit neurocollectiveInGen Dynamics
Palo Alto AI, robotics, and smart automation company building a product ecosystem across home, healthcare, security, and education. Vice President leading special projects.
Visit InGen DynamicsCranfield School of Management
Visiting Fellow contributing to executive education and applied research on AI in commercial strategy and key account management.
Visit Cranfield SOMAssociation for Key Account Management
Board Director and Treasurer of the professional body advancing the practice of strategic account management across industries.
Visit AKAMReflare
Cybersecurity awareness training built on continuous-learning principles, used by enterprises in financial services and beyond to embed security behaviour across the workforce.
Visit ReflareSpeaking
Matt delivers keynotes, workshops, and panel discussions at universities, professional bodies, and business events worldwide. His sessions sit at the intersection of AI, B2B marketing, and the changing buyer journey, drawing on more than two decades of industry experience and a natural talent for storytelling.
Keeping the Buyer in the Loop
Why synthetic customer representations belong in commercial decision-making, and the structural shift this creates for how marketing teams operate inside regulated industries.
From funnels to webs
Rethinking engagement for the AI era. Why the linear funnel is breaking down, and what replaces it when buyers research with AI tools at every stage of their journey.
AI-augmented sellers
From call prep to buying-group mastery. A practical workshop for sales and marketing teams integrating AI into their commercial pipeline without losing the human edge.
Recent venues
The Uprising hosted by Mark Schaefer, SAMPS European Conference (Cambridge, UK), SAMPS Annual Conference (Boston, MA), ELRIG Drug Discovery (Liverpool, UK), Saint-Gobain Sales Directors Forum (Paris, France), the Association for Key Account Management at Siemens HQ (Munich, Germany), Cranfield School of Management (Cranfield, UK), Surrey Business School (Surrey, UK), Durham University Business School (Durham, UK), the University of Leicester (Leicester, UK), the University of North Texas (Denton, TX) and C&EN Marketing Elements Summit (Washington, DC).
"Post event, you were consistently listed as a favourite presentation. You are a star!"
Mark Schaefer, marketing strategist and author
Podcasts
Matt co-hosts two weekly podcasts. Both are conversational, opinionated, and built for practitioners who want context on what is actually changing rather than commentary on what might.
A Splice of Life Science Marketing
Weekly conversations on life science marketing, AI commercialisation, and the changing buyer journey. Co-hosted with Dr Jasmine Gruia-Gray.
ListenAI in the UK
Weekly discussion of AI news, surveys, policy, and ecosystem developments across the United Kingdom. Co-hosted with Niels Footman.
ListenCredentials
- PhD, Chemistry, University of Bristol
- MBA, Cranfield School of Management
- AI Management Practitioner, BSI (ISO/IEC 42001:2023)
- Visiting Fellow, Cranfield School of Management
- Marketing Week CX50 2026, life sciences
- Forbes Contributor
The Buyer in the Loop
How synthetic customers stop your buyer disappearing between research and market.
Foreword by Mark Schaefer.
Pre-order nowAs featured in
Common questions
Who is Matt Wilkinson?
Matt Wilkinson is a marketing strategist and AI commercialisation specialist. He is Founder and CEO of Strivenn, GTM Strategist at neurocollective, a Visiting Fellow at Cranfield School of Management, and Director and Treasurer of the Association for Key Account Management. He writes the Forbes column The AI Marketing Scientist and authored The Buyer in the Loop. In 2026 he was named to Marketing Week's CX50 for the life sciences sector.
What is Matt Wilkinson's background?
Matt holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Bristol, an MBA from Cranfield School of Management, and the BSI AI Management Practitioner qualification (ISO/IEC 42001:2023). He has spent over a decade helping technically complex companies in life sciences, diagnostics, and regulated industries commercialise advanced technology.
What companies does Matt Wilkinson work with?
Matt works across six organisations: Strivenn (Founder and CEO), neurocollective (GTM Strategist), InGen Dynamics (VP, Special Projects), Cranfield School of Management (Visiting Fellow), the Association for Key Account Management (Director and Treasurer), and Reflare (Sales and Marketing Director).
What is Matt Wilkinson's expertise?
Matt specialises in marketing strategy, AI commercialisation, go-to-market strategy, account-based marketing, and synthetic customer intelligence. His work focuses on helping companies in life sciences, diagnostics, cybersecurity, and other regulated industries turn AI investment into measurable commercial outcomes.
Where does Matt Wilkinson speak?
Matt has delivered keynotes, workshops, and panel discussions at universities and industry events worldwide. Recent venues include The Uprising hosted by Mark Schaefer, SAMPS Annual Conference, ELRIG Drug Discovery, Saint-Gobain, the Association for Key Account Management at Siemens HQ Munich, Cranfield School of Management, Surrey Business School, Durham University Business School, the University of Leicester, and the University of North Texas. His signature talks cover synthetic customers in commercial decision-making, AI-augmented selling, and the shift from funnels to webs in the AI era.
Does Matt Wilkinson host a podcast?
Matt co-hosts two weekly podcasts. A Splice of Life Science Marketing, recorded with Dr Jasmine Gruia-Gray, covers life science marketing, AI commercialisation, and the changing buyer journey. AI in the UK, recorded with Niels Footman, covers AI news, surveys, policy, and ecosystem developments across the United Kingdom. Both are available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
How can I contact Matt Wilkinson?
The fastest route is to book a meeting via this meeting booking link. You can also connect on LinkedIn or subscribe to the Strivenn Thinking newsletter for ongoing thinking on AI in life science commercial strategy.