Michael Blake

Michael Blake leads Bain's global AI and software engineering capability, spanning AI system architecture, cloud and distributed systems, and data architecture. He has a track record of designing, launching, and scaling global technology products and AI solutions from concept through to production operation.

Michael's work focuses on designing and delivering AI systems in regulated, high-scale environments. He brings particular depth in agentic AI systems, where non-deterministic control flow meets distributed systems engineering; in transforming how software and product delivery organisations adopt AI-native engineering practices; and in building the AI engineering delivery capability that helps clients turn frontier AI technology into measurable business outcomes.

Prior to joining Bain, Michael was VP of Engineering and Architecture at Max Kelsen, an AI consulting firm acquired by Bain in 2023. Before that, he was the AI/ML Customer Engineering Practice Lead at Google Cloud, a Data and Distributed Systems specialist at Amazon Web Services, and VP of Architecture and Engineering at BBC Studios where he launched global-scale direct-to-consumer products. He also built and scaled engineering teams at two venture-backed startups in the UK, co-founding one as CTO.

Michael holds a master's degree in computing from Manchester Metropolitan University and a BA Honours in ancient history and archaeology from the University of Manchester.