// about.md
Adam Stacey
Head of Technology • AI Transformation Leader • Agent-First Builder
// introduction
I lead partner engineering at Compare the Market, multiple teams building the platform that connects comparison partners to millions of customers. Before that I spent two decades doing variations of the same job: figuring out what a business actually needs from its technology and then building it.
Right now I'm also completing a Level 7 AI and Data Science apprenticeship, building PicoPouch (an agent-first SaaS platform on GCP with six purpose-built AI agents), and using this site as a testing ground for how agents and humans should work together. Tea breaks are non-negotiable.
20+
Years in Tech
4
Teams Led
300+
Engineers Coordinated
6
AI Agents Built
Transformation at Scale
I coordinated 300+ engineers across every product vertical for a zero-downtime regulatory release at a major comparison platform. Introduced rehearsals, runbooks, and premortems that became standard practice for all high-risk releases. The strategy matters more than the technology, and I've learned that the hard way.
Leadership with Heart
Hire for behaviours, develop for skills. I reshaped a top-heavy engineering org from an inverted seniority pyramid to a sustainable talent pipeline using natural attrition, graduate investment, and agent-first tooling. Doing that in the middle of a transformation that changed what it means to be an engineer on my teams is probably the thing I'm proudest of.
Problem Solver
I built an ML-based partner onboarding platform that cut integration effort by 60%. Designed the auto-fill product for home insurance that improved conversion. Built financial control systems for the University of Oxford that saved over £1M in audit findings. The common thread: someone said "this is a mess" and I said "right, let’s fix it."
Agent-First Believer
Agent-first isn't a productivity tool. It's a delivery model. My engineers work at the architecture and verification layer while AI agents handle implementation. We've seen significant cycle time reductions without adding headcount. Force multiplication, not linear scaling. PicoPouch and this site are both built the same way.
// career_highlights
- >Pioneered agent-first delivery across multiple engineering teams, shifting engineers to architecture and verification roles
- >Coordinated 300+ engineers for a zero-downtime cross-platform regulatory release under FCA pressure
- >Reshaped team structure from inverted seniority pyramid to sustainable talent pipeline while maintaining delivery
- >Built ML partner onboarding platform reducing integration effort by 60%
- >Delivered solutions for BMW, MINI, 3M, and the University of Oxford through Niddocks and Digital Illumination
- >Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2007. Founded a web agency at 21 that ran for seven years
- >Building PicoPouch: six AI agents handling data ingestion, bank statement processing, and vault automation
// core_competencies
// the_journey
BSc Computer Science
University of Nottingham
Founded Niddocks
Web agency. BMW, MINI, 3M, University of Oxford. Seven years.
Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Recognised while running Niddocks at twenty-five.
Lead Engineer → Technical Director
UK Kitchens, then Brickhunter. E-commerce platforms, CRM builds, legacy modernisation.
Founded Digital Illumination
Technology consultancy. Solution architecture, Salesforce, platform modernisation.
Head of Development, Barbon Insurance
Microservices platform, CI/CD, API-driven integrations. Contract role.
Staff Engineer, Compare the Market
Architecture for Energy and Home Insurance. Auto-fill product for conversion.
Head of Technology, Compare the Market
Multiple engineering teams. Agent-first transformation. Partner platform strategy.
AI & Data Science Apprenticeship + PicoPouch
Level 7 Masters-equivalent. Six AI agents. Agent-first SaaS on GCP.
// off_the_clock
When I'm not at work, I'm either tinkering with my enduro bike, building PicoPouch, or being called “Ad-Nav” by my family. It's a play on sat-nav, because I always seem to find a way out of anything. Gemma, Isaac, and Eleanor came up with it. It stuck.