Michael Blake

Michael Blake is a member of our Applied Technology and AI practice and leads our global client technology delivery, including multidisciplinary, forward-deployed teams and AI and software engineering capability.

Michael has more than 25 years of experience building and delivering production AI and software systems. His expertise spans AI system architecture, cloud and distributed systems, and data architecture, with a track record of designing, launching, and scaling global technology products and AI solutions from concept through production operation.

His work focuses on designing and delivering AI systems in regulated, high-scale environments. He has particular experience in agentic AI systems, combining non-deterministic control flow with distributed systems engineering, as well as helping software and product delivery organizations adopt AI-native engineering practices. He also focuses on building AI engineering delivery capability to help clients turn frontier AI technology into measurable business outcomes.

Before joining Bain, Michael was VP of Engineering and Architecture at Max Kelsen, an AI consulting firm acquired by Bain in 2023. Previously, he served as 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.