200+
Client engagement across continents
100+
Data & AI due diligence and discovery across target maturity and sector
30+
PE firms in North America, Europe, Africa and Oceania
$10m-1bn+
Enterprise values: we typically work with mid-cap investors
Our Vision & Mission
A note on how we think about data
Most conversations about data start with technology.
Platforms.
Tools.
Algorithms.
We think that is the wrong place to start.
Data is not primarily a technology problem.
It is a business clarity problem.
Clarity about:
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how the organisation actually operates
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what information matters to decision-making
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how systems and processes connect.
Once that clarity exists, the technology becomes much easier to design.
Less theatre. More delivery
The world of data and AI is not short of excitement.
Every week brings a new platform, a new model or a new promise.
Some of these advances are transformative.
Many are simply distractions from the harder work of building strong foundations.
We focus on the work that actually changes how organisations operate:
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integrating fragmented systems
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defining metrics clearly
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building data that people trust
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embedding analytics and AI into everyday decisions.
It is not always glamorous.
But it is where value is created.
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Our Team
Our senior team
Our core team of data, analytics and investment specialists is surrounded by a network of 50+ domain experts and delivery partners whom we collaborate with on a need-by-need, client-by-client basis.
Meaning that we can scale up or down to meet demand and project scope.
Chelsea Wilkinson
Co-founder, CEO
Chelsea has over 25 years’ experience as a senior executive and advisor across private equity, M&A and consulting.
She has led international teams through crisis, growth and complex transactions. In 2020, she co-founded DataDiligence, a specialist consultancy focused on data diagnostics, strategy and value creation across operations, decision-making and M&A.
Previously, she spent 18 years as Head of Corporate Relations at premier African alternative asset manager, Ethos, and later founded UK-based consultancy Atholhurst. She holds a BA/BSC hons in Business Studies and Radio, Film and Television, and has lived and worked across both South Africa and the United Kingdom.
Adam Votava
Co-founder, Managing Partner
Adam is co-founder and Managing Partner at DataDiligence, a specialist consultancy supporting private equity firms and their portfolio companies with data due diligence, strategy and delivery.
He leads our due diligence practice, and has led 100+ data strategy and value creation initiatives across Europe, Africa, the US and Australia, working across a wide range of sectors.
Previously, Adam held senior data science roles across corporate, consulting and start-up environments. He holds Master’s degrees in Mathematics and Law from Charles University in Prague and is based in Zurich.
Veronika Bauer
Partner*
Veronika is a Partner at DataDiligence, specialising in advanced analytics, data strategy and decision support for private equity and portfolio companies.
She focuses on turning complex data into clear, actionable insight — from financial modelling and dashboards to applied machine learning — supporting clients from diligence through to delivery.
Previously, Veronika led the Advanced Analytics team at Deloitte and worked as a Technical Product Manager in a start-up. She holds master’s degrees in Mathematics and Diplomacy and began her career at the United Nations in New York.
*Independent contractor and not an employee of DataDiligence
Example profiles from our network of delivery experts
Our delivery muscle
We build delivery teams around the problem, not a fixed bench.
Every engagement is different. Rather than forcing a predefined team, we bring together the right specialists at the right time — across data engineering, analytics, AI and change — aligned to the specific needs, pace and budget of the business.
This model gives our clients access to senior, proven capability without unnecessary overhead. It also ensures continuity from strategy through to delivery, with a flexible structure that scales as priorities evolve.
Tomáš
Data engineer
Tomáš builds robust, scalable data pipelines and platforms. His work ensures data is reliable, integrated and ready to support analytics and AI at scale.
Eliska
Power BI
Eliska designs intuitive, high-impact dashboards that drive decision-making. She works closely with stakeholders to turn data into clear, actionable reporting used across the business.
David
Data scientist
David specialises in translating complex data into practical models and insights. He focuses on solving real business problems, from forecasting and segmentation to applied machine learning.
Working with us
Where we begin
Every engagement starts with understanding the foundations.
We examine: what data exists across systems, how those systems connect, where gaps or inconsistencies exist, and what capabilities the organisation already has.
For investors, this often happens during Data & AI diligence.
For portfolio companies, it forms the basis of a practical roadmap for value creation.
Sometimes you need a CDO before you hire one
Many organisations recognise they need senior data leadership.
But they are not ready to build a full data team yet.
This is common in growing businesses and private equity portfolio companies.
We often step in as interim Chief Data & AI Officers, providing the leadership required to:
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define the data strategy
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guide architecture decisions
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oversee delivery
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mentor internal teams.
The role is not to stay forever.
It is to build the foundations and capability that allow the organisation to own the journey.
We work ourselves out of a job
Many consulting engagements quietly depend on something unhealthy.
Dependency.
The more complex the solution, the longer the consultant stays.
That has never been our model.
Our goal is simple: Leave the organisation stronger than we found it.
Every engagement focuses on:
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transferring knowledge
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mentoring internal teams
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documenting architecture and decisions
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helping organisations build their own capability.
When we step back, the systems should run, the dashboards should be trusted, and the teams should know how to continue the journey.
The best of both worlds
Traditional consultancies bring strategy.
Technology firms bring engineering.
Rarely do you get both.
DataDiligence sits in the middle.
We combine strategic thinking with hands-on delivery, helping organisations move from data confusion to operational capability.
We help leadership teams answer the important questions:
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What should the data architecture look like?
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What foundations need to be built first?
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Where will analytics and AI create real value?
And then we build it.
No strategy that never gets implemented. No technology without a clear purpose.
Just practical progress.
Strategy is only half the job
Good strategy clarifies direction.
Delivery creates value.
Many organisations have already invested in dashboards, platforms or AI initiatives but struggle to turn them into everyday tools people actually use.
That is where the real work begins.
We design and implement the foundations that make data useful:
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integrated data platforms
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reliable pipelines
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clear metric definitions
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dashboards embedded in operational workflows.
The goal is simple.
Move organisations from reporting about the past to understanding the present and shaping the future.
"DataDiligence treats data as a strategically valuable assets (rather than a cost centre) and demonstrates data’s significant impact on business performance.
They always thrive to come up with innovative ways of using the advancements in technology and analytics to add value for us. The solutions are targeted to our customer’s business problems, while using an unparalleled ability to pragmatically leverage the data, technology, and people available. Adam and the team are true professionals and bring world-class processes to data science field."
Christian Berthelsen
CTO, Fourth - Data & AI Strategy & Delivery
“The DataDiligence team invested the necessary time to understand our portfolio company’s unique challenges and deliver a bespoke data strategy tailored to its business needs ... By integrating and unifying our systems into a scalable, AI-enabled infrastructure, we now have enhanced visibility across our operations, greater predictability of performance, and a solid foundation for future innovations.
Both phases were delivered on time and on budget, a remarkable achievement given the complexity of integrating multiple entities, systems, and data. The solutions provided by DataDiligence have not only positioned our company for sustainable growth but also ensured we are fully equipped to seize market opportunities with increased confidence.”
Caroline Shettle
Principal, The Riverside Company - Portfolio company Data & AI Strategy and Delivery
"New methodologies – particularly the business data twin – have enabled us to radically reduce our time to market and automate previously time-consuming processes. Better still, these new ways of working, coupled with machine learning, are repeatable. Meaning we continue to improve and reap the economic benefits of scale and learning.
Lastly, beyond their technical skills and professionalism, DataDiligence feel more like team members than external consultants – we greatly value our trusted, transparent relationship."
Data intelligence director
Portfolio company, Data & AI Strategy and Delivery
“We've loved working with DataDiligence.
It's been a fantastic outcome for us as a business, primarily with the concrete outcome of the RPA+GenAI webscraper project as well as the kickstart and mentoring for our ML/AI in our solution.
It gave us what we needed: a concrete path to valuable use cases for us that can be reimagined using smart solutions. ”
Erik Tengen
CEO, Oaky - Data & AI Operating Partner, automation
"It was a pleasure working with you on the AI due diligence.
Your insights have helped us to refine our priorities and identify key areas for improvement."
Guy Shaked
CTO, FIDO, target company Data & AI Due Diligence
"Beyond the depth and level of insights, I was very impressed by the actionability of DataDiligence's findings – they really had gone above and beyond to make sure that the Company themselves could own and deliver on the strategy.
I highly recommend DataDiligence to investors and management teams looking to better structure and commercialise their data."
Richard Hardy
Investment Director, BlueOrchard (part of the Schroders Group) - Portfolio Company Data & AI Strategy
“We partnered with DataDiligence to drive a strategic initiative at Feefo, aimed at unlocking the commercial value of our data. From the initial discovery through to the completion of the design phase, we were consistently impressed with the depth of intelligence and market knowledge that the DataDiligence team brought to the project.
Their approach struck the perfect balance between strategic vision and practical implementation, providing a clear roadmap to achieve our commercial objectives. We really enjoyed working with the team, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend DataDiligence to businesses who are looking for strategic guidance to harness the value from their data assets.”
Kerry Leighton-Bailey
Chief Product & Marketing Officer, Feefo - Data & AI Strategy
"Arise B.V. engaged DataDiligence to perform a data due diligence assessment for a specialised data platform. We were impressed by their methodical and all-encompassing investigative approach.
Additionally, their report offered valuable insights and recommendations on both the opportunity and technical aspects."
Fred Pelser
Senior Investment Director, Arise - Data & AI due diligence
What our clients say
Trusted by investors & management teams alike
Our expert team has delivered over 200 projects, across geographies, sectors, data and business maturity
About Us
Value driven, not data driven
Combining domain expertise in investing, data science, machine learning, AI, data engineering and change management, we support our clients to deliver both outputs and outcomes.