About Huntley Cross
Cross-functional by construction, not by referral
Huntley Cross is a partner-led advisory firm built for the questions that arrive when the tax position, the deal structure and the systems underneath them all have to land in the same room. Two named people carry those disciplines: a partner on finance, tax and transaction advisory, and a consultant on the AI and data engineering. They work the same mandate rather than handing it between firms, and a technical team carrying real depth across AI engineering, data science, web, gameplay systems, 3D, Python and Java delivers alongside them.
Every partner is named, photographed and independently verifiable from the leadership page. Practitioners on the delivery team are introduced by name under NDA when their workstream is in scope. We do not list unnamed “Big Four backgrounds” or fabricated partner profiles, if it is not on the leadership page with verifiable links, it is not part of the practice.
Brand and operating entity
Huntley Cross Advisory is the public-facing brand. Engagements are contracted with the operating entity: Zaex Enterprises LLP, a Limited Liability Partnership registered in India (GST 33AADFZ0704B1ZU). This brand-and-entity structure is the standard model for cross-border advisory firms with UK and international clients.
Practical implications for clients: invoices, NDAs and engagement letters are issued in the legal name; the trading name appears in client correspondence, deliverables and brand identity throughout the engagement. Cross-border personal data is handled under UK GDPR Article 46 safeguards (Standard Contractual Clauses or the UK IDTA) and the India DPDP Act 2023.
Our Vision
To be the first call when a leadership team is making a high-stakes AI, transaction or transformation decision, the call where the answer to “will this work?” comes from someone who will also build it.
Our Mission
To turn high-stakes decisions into executable workplans, with named ownership, scoped diagnostics, and the option to walk away with the memo if the answer is “don’t do it.”
Four phases. One integrating owner. NDA-first throughout.
Every engagement runs through the same workflow, regardless of whether the mandate is an AI Readiness Audit, an M&A diligence, or a transaction-tax structuring. The partner integrates, the technical team and specialist partners deliver against the same execution standard.
Scoping Call
20–30 minute partner call. Bring one active decision. Mutual NDA in place before any data exchange. Leaves with a written next-step recommendation, even if that recommendation is "don't engage us."
Scoped Audit
Two-week diagnostic against the mandate. Scoped and quoted on the call, no hourly drift. The memo is yours whether you proceed to execution or not, no upsell pressure attached.
Engagement Letter
Named integrator (the partner) plus every specialist contributing to the workplan, with a clear scope per workstream. Specialist partners are introduced by name and prior firm before substantive work begins.
Delivery & Oversight
Weekly checkpoints with the partner. Technical team and specialist partners deliver the surfaces. Pitch decks and commercial-in-confidence material are returned or destroyed at engagement close.
How We Differ From The Default Advisory Model
Partner-led, scoped and quoted up front, NDA-first by default.
Engineer In The Room
The consultant who owns the AI work is an AI Systems Engineer with seven years of production experience, not a partner who has not coded since the dot-com era.
Partner-Led Gateway
The AI Readiness Audit is a two-week deliverable scoped on the call. No discovery hourly. The memo is yours whether you proceed or not.
NDA-First
One-page mutual NDA before any data exchange. We do not retain pitch decks or commercial-in-confidence material beyond the engagement.
Cross-Border By Design
UK-led delivery; India-registered operating entity (Zaex Enterprises LLP). Standard model for cross-border advisory; specialist partners on call.
What happens to the information you share with us
Clear handling rules from the first substantive exchange through engagement close.
-
Mutual NDA before substantive material
One-page mutual NDA signed before any data, deck, or commercial-in-confidence material is exchanged. Owner-supplied template is welcome.
-
Engagement letter scope-locks the work
Named integrator and every contributing specialist, with a clear scope per workstream and explicit data-handling clauses.
-
Material is returned or destroyed at close
Pitch decks, financials, and commercial-in-confidence artefacts are not retained beyond the engagement, except as required by audit retention rules.
-
Cross-border data under recognised safeguards
UK GDPR Article 46 (Standard Contractual Clauses or the UK IDTA) and the India DPDP Act 2023 govern any cross-border personal data flow.
-
Sub-processors disclosed and minimised
Where a specialist partner or tooling vendor needs access, you are told who, why, and under what contractual terms before access is granted.
Pick the workplan that matches your decision
Each of the four routes below begins with the same scoping call, then forks based on what the work actually is.
AI Readiness Audit
Two-week diagnostic on whether your AI roadmap is buildable, defensible, and worth the capital.
See the auditFractional AI Operator
Consultant-hours retainer for the months after the audit. Eight consultant hours a month, three-month minimum.
See the retainerM&A & Transaction Tax
Cross-border diligence, structuring and integration sequencing, scoped and governed from a single workplan.
See M&A advisoryRisk & Transformation
Operating risk, governance, and transformation execution against a board-grade business case.
See risk & transformationStart with a 20-minute scoping call
Bring one active decision. Leave knowing whether the AI Readiness Audit is the right next step, or whether it isn’t.