Jeff Herbert
Independent technical expert for R&D programs, and Chief AI Officer for leadership teams. A business leader first, with the communication skills to bring an executive team with me, and more than 40 years of technical depth, from the first networks to today's AI platforms, with cybersecurity from engineer to executive.
Four decades of building, and the judgment that comes with it
I have worked in technology through every major cycle of computing, from the first local networks and client-server systems to the internet, cloud, blockchain and now AI, at both engineering and executive levels. That gives me two things most advisors don't have: an understanding of how systems really work and how they fail, and a clear memory of what was and wasn't known at each point along the way.
For the last three years I have applied that experience to AI as a builder. I founded Nexanomics and designed, architected and built the entire platform myself with AI, from the commercial model and board papers to the cloud architecture, the agentic features and a built-in go-to-market capability. I also led an eleven-person team building an AI education platform under a formal, multi-year R&D program, working day to day with specialist R&D advisors.
That program is where the two halves of my work meet. Leading it taught me what a research question looks like from the inside and what it takes to evidence one. Today I give independent expert opinions on R&D programs, and I help leadership teams decide where Transformational AI should reshape their business and steer it safely and securely to results that last.
Business first. Evidence always.
- I start with the business. Strategy, operations, the pressure points, and only then the technology.
- I do the research. Whether it's an R&D opinion or an AI strategy, the position rests on evidence I can point to.
- I communicate at every level. Board papers, executive briefings, regulator responses, and the working conversations that bring teams through change.
- I solve problems laterally. The best path through a complex challenge is often not the obvious one.
- I build in governance. Security, accountability and audit from day one, not retrofitted.
- I leave capability behind. Your people become the builders, and your business owns what gets built.
The background behind the opinion
Master of Philosophy, first class
Computer and mathematical sciences, with a thesis on blockchain applications, and published, peer-reviewed research. Lectured at Auckland University of Technology in cybersecurity, cloud platforms and software development methodologies. Research method is a working tool, not a memory.
Architect and builder, at the current frontier
I designed, architected and built the entire Nexanomics platform with AI as the building tool: a secure multi-tenant SaaS with subscription billing, group administration, agentic intelligence and, as a demonstration of the method, a complete go-to-market capability inside the product. Before that, enterprise cybersecurity programs and CISO-level accountability, with CISM and GSEC certifications held across more than two decades.
Inside the program and alongside the client
Led a formal multi-year R&D program with specialist advisors, and provided independent technical opinions in Australian R&D Tax Incentive matters, including responses to regulator Requests for Information.
A knowledge ark, and a little arcana
An ark carries what matters through changing waters and keeps it safe. Arcana is deep, specialist knowledge, the kind that can look like magic from the outside.
The logo is a guiding star above the sea: the fixed point you steer by, whether that is a technical opinion a regulator can rely on or an AI strategy a board can back, with the course set deliberately and the business kept safe along the way.
Arkcana is based in Australia and works with clients worldwide. Every engagement is delivered remotely: the teams I work with are usually spread across locations themselves, so remote working is how the work already runs.