Kiara Thomas

Innovation Specialist Noble

Kiara Thomas is an Innovation & Technology Scout at Noble Corporation, where she develops the company’s offshore drilling innovation pipeline, evaluates early-stage technologies, and advises leadership on strategic investments that enhance competitive positioning. She brings a strong venture and startup background, having founded a startup accelerator and served as a Venture Partner at a Los Angeles based AI fund, where she built startup growth programs, led diligence, and supported AI and industrial technology portfolios. Kiara has successfully launched a university innovation pipeline program delivering a projected 7,499:1 return over a 5–7 year horizon, demonstrating her ability to bridge academic research, startups, and large-scale drilling contractors. Her expertise spans innovation strategy, new business development, partnerships, and systems thinking, with a consistent focus on converting technical potential into scalable, market-ready outcomes.

Main Conference Day 2 - February 25, 2026

11:00 AM Panel Discussion: From Proof of Concept to Scale: Success Factors and Execution Strategies

While the potential of AI is no longer in question, the journey from POC to scalable, enterprise-grade deployment remains complex. A key challenge lies in the disconnect between technology leaders and the operational realities of energy environments, leading to unrealistic expectations around the pace and complexity of scaling AI. In this session we will review the end-to-end lifecycle of AI deployment, from initial PoC, to platform-based implementation within business units and ultimately enterprise-wide integration, shining a spotlight on common pitfalls, success factors and execution strategies.

Examining how data architecture and standardization can help structure both operational and historical data to ensure AI models interact effectively and reliably at scale
Considering the role of human-centered design and user interfaces in driving adoption of AI-powered tools, making complex technologies more intuitive, accessible, and impactful for end users
Real-world use cases that illustrate different implementation strategies by AI type, with a spotlight on how traditional machine learning models and generative AI require distinct approaches to scaling and integration

Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining Kiara.

Download The Latest Agenda

In Partnership With:

QUESTIONS?

Telephone: +1 813-658-2511
Email: enquire@iqpc.co.uk