About
I'm Gary Kellett. I build the answer.
The short story
Developer first, architect since.
I started as a developer in 1998 and moved into enterprise and solution architecture. From 2005 I ran a virtual-CTO business for SMEs, long before “fractional” was a word.
Since then I have led an 80-person delivery function, recovered £3M of lost revenue for Boots Opticians with a booking campaign, and today I chair a Group AI Leadership Team in a large healthcare group.
I still build. That is the point of this site: I work out the right answer for your business, and then I make it.
“The architecture is rarely the hard part. The hard part is people who have been asked to change before and have reason to be sceptical. So I start by listening.”
Boxed Online
My consultancy, and its network.
Boxed Online is the consultancy I lead. I am the accountable lead on every engagement: the person you talk to, the person who does the architecture, and the person answerable for the result.
When a programme is bigger than one person, I bring in consultants from a network I have worked with before: architects, ERP and CRM specialists, integration and workflow developers, project and change managers and testers. You always know who is doing what, and there are no agency overheads in between.
Leading a network is familiar ground. I ran Agile Spider from 2005 to 2013, a virtual-CTO business for SMEs, and I was delivery director at Ciber UK, leading 80 people.
What I believe
Four principles.
Listen before you design
The people who have been asked to change before know where it went wrong. They are the best source of requirements you will get.
Trust beats impressive
An AI strategy people trust is worth more than one that impresses in a meeting.
Prove it on your real work
A working proof on your own process tells you more than any slide. So I build it first, and show you.
Hold the line where it matters
Security, testing and honest reporting are not negotiable. Almost everything else is.
“On AI I am both an enthusiast and a realist. Building an AI strategy people trust matters more than building one that impresses.”
“I hold the line where it matters and I am flexible everywhere else.”
Career
Twenty-five years, in order.
2023 - present
Uniphar Group
Head of Group Architecture
Chairs the Group AI Leadership Team; led the rollout of agentic AI development and low-code, projected to save about £1.5M a year.
2023
Animal Friends Insurance
Head of Architecture
Built the enterprise architecture service from nothing across five product teams.
2021 - 2023
Columbus Global
Enterprise Architect
First enterprise architect in the UK business; created its digital transformation maturity assessment.
2021
Boots UK (Walgreens Boots Alliance)
Interim Solution Architect
Eye-test booking campaign that recovered £3M of lost revenue.
2020 - 2021
Needi
Founding CTO
Technology vision and AI strategy for an AI gift-matching start-up.
2019 - 2021
DXC Technology
Enterprise Architect
Lead architect on a global transformation for a 1,000-store medical device retailer.
2015 - 2019
Contract architecture
Lead Architect
Transport for Greater Manchester, Irish Life, Lookers and Danwood Group.
2013 - 2015
Ciber UK
Delivery Director
Led an 80-person delivery function across five practices.
2005 - 2013
Agile Spider
Founder and Managing Director
Virtual CTO services for SMEs, long before "fractional" had a name.
1998 - 2005
Early career
Developer to IT Consultant
Hands-on software development, the foundation I still build on.
Credentials
On the record.
2014
TOGAF certified
2021
PRINCE2 Practitioner
2025
Microsoft Agentic AI Accelerator
UCLan
HND Software Engineering
Boundaries
What I won't do.
- No vanity projects. If it will not pay back, I will say so.
- No lock-in. You own what I build, and the documents that describe it.
- No buzzwords. If I cannot explain it plainly, I do not understand it yet.
- No selling you software you do not need.
Next step
Tell me what's stuck.
In 30 minutes you'll know whether to fix it, buy it, build it or leave it. No pitch deck.