Ben Clinch · Clinch Data Services

01 · Community & Advocacy

Community first

Community work sits at the heart of what I do. The data profession advances fastest when practitioners share openly.

EDM Association

Regional Lead Trainer & AI Forum Chair

Regional Lead Trainer for DCAM (Data Management Capability Assessment Model) and CDMC (Cloud Data Management Capabilities). Chair of the EDM AI Forum and active contributor to the enterprise data management community on a range of initiatives.

DAMA UK

Committee Member

Representing London and the South East, supporting the professional data management community through events, mentoring and knowledge sharing.

Conferences

Speaker, Keynote & Co-chair

Regular speaker, keynote and co-chair at industry events including the IRM UK Data, AI and Analytics conference series.

02 · Speaking & Appearances

Recent talks, keynotes and panels

A selection of recent appearances across conferences, community sessions and podcasts.

Conference talks and keynotes

Big Data LDN 2025

Neuro-Symbolic AI: a practical guide to leveraging data for accurate and compelling AI

Watch on YouTube →

Semantic Layer Symposium 2025

Using semantics to reduce hallucinations and overcome agentic limits

How neuro-symbolic AI and knowledge graphs improve LLM powered analytics and support safer AI agents.

Watch on YouTube →

Data Governance, MDM & AI Governance Conference Europe 2025

Plenary keynote: the future of data management

Centred on trust, AI, regulation and automation, plus a workshop, Thriving with Data Fabric.

View on LinkedIn →

KMWorld & Taxonomy Bootcamp 2026

Keynote: Knowledge management's evolution in the age of AI

Event page →

DKGcon 2025 · Slovenia

The AI Mindshift: Thinking Differently About Thinking Machines

Watch on YouTube →

Knowledge Graph Conference NYC 2024

The BT Digital Twin: Practical Findings from Cloud-Based Federated Semantics

Watch on YouTube →

IRM UK Data, AI & Analytics 2024

Co-chair, day two, and speaker on digital twins

Showing how digital twins can simulate the business and improve LLM accuracy.

View on LinkedIn →

Data Innovation Summit 2024

A practitioner guide to data fabric

Core concepts, implementation sequence, common pitfalls and unlocking data value at scale.

Talk page →

Data Decoded LDN 2026

Data fabric talk and a panel on the intersection of AI and data governance

View on LinkedIn →

Further talks include Gartner Data & Analytics, Google Cloud Next, New Scientist, DataVision, Data Innovation Summit and Data Decoded LDN & MCR.

Webinars and community sessions

EDM Council

Knowledge Graph SIG: the CDMC knowledge graph and how it enables data fabric

Including moving from human readable to machine readable information models.

Webinar page →

DAMA UK

Fireside chat: how AI is changing the way we think about data management

Event page →

Podcast appearances

Catalog & Cocktails

Automating data governance

Why governance cannot remain a manual process as regulatory demands and data complexity rise.

Episode →

Earley AI Podcast · Ep. 33

Knowledge graphs, data modelling and the future of AI

Podcast home →

Knowledge Cast

Semantics, LLMs and neuro-symbolic AI

With Enterprise Knowledge, previewing the Semantic Layer Symposium talk.

Episode →

Data Fabric & Data Governance

What data fabric means for governance practitioners

And how the two fit together in real organisations. And many more.

Episode →

03 · What I Do

Grounded, governed, connected

I work with organisations that want their data and architecture estates to be effective and genuinely AI ready. My core thesis is simple: neither business processes nor large language models are any better than the context they are grounded in, and that grounding comes from solid contextual and relational metadata, well governed semantics and coherent architecture.

Semantic modelling & knowledge graphs

Ontology design (OWL, RDF, SKOS), taxonomy development, knowledge graph strategy and implementation across retail, insurance and financial services domains.

Data management & governance

Solid best practice on data management, data governance, security and privacy.

Data & AI strategy

Advisory for enterprises, investors and vendors on data governance, AI readiness and enterprise architecture alignment.

Enterprise architecture

Connecting business capability models, data models and technology landscapes so architecture becomes a living asset rather than shelfware.

Speaking, writing & facilitation

Keynotes, panel chairing, workshop facilitation and thought leadership on the intersection of semantics, governance and AI.

04 · Experience Highlights

Two and a half decades at scale

Over more than two and a half decades I have led business and technology programmes, data architecture and semantic modelling initiatives across global financial services institutions, telecommunications, retail groups and technology vendors.

Roles have included Global Head of Business Data Architecture for HSBC's Global Banking and Markets (Investment Bank), Global Head of Governance for the Financial Intelligence Unit, and Head of Information Architecture for BT Group, covering businesses in 180 countries.

26+

Years in data & architecture

Globally Significant Investment Banks (GSIBs)

Global head-of roles

05 · Writing & Thinking