The Tech Leaders Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

This fifth instalment of TTLP’s AI Series 2.0 concludes a quintet of insightful conversations about the tech innovation that’s having a huge impact on the world as we know it.

Matt Armstrong-Barnes, CTO for AI at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, joins Gareth and Kerensa for the final conversation of the series; this episode may be last but it’s certainly not least.

With a career spanning over 25 years, Matt has led game-changing transformation programmes across the public and private sector, he’s a Fellow of the British Computer Society, a Chartered Engineer, and a passionate champion of open-source tools that make AI accessible for all.

Now as the CTO for AI at HPE, Matt’s role as a tech leader is marked by helping blue chip organisations navigate AI adoption.

Featuring stellar insight into what businesses need to prioritise for successful AI adoption, the surprising environmental cost of an AI query to the perils of 'AI washing,' and even how to explain AI to a six-year-old—this episode is the perfect conclusion to the AI Series 2.0!

Time stamps

• What excites Matt most about AI? (02:26)
• Matt’s favourite GenAI tools (03:50)
• The journey to CTO (06:07)
• The difference between Computer Science and IT (13:27)
• Why use cases for GenAI are problematic (15:34)
• How to ensure your data is AI-ready (22:07)
• Where are businesses failing most with AI strategy? (25:39)
• The industries most likely to be impacted by AI (37:47)
• Matt’s biggest AI fears (47:53)

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This week’s guest joins us for the penultimate instalment of TTLP’s AI Series to give a masterclass in how businesses can get the most out of AI. Dr Djamila Amimer, esteemed AI thought leader and founder of Mind Senses Global, joins Gareth and Kerensa and offers incredible insight into her path to becoming an AI expert.

Joining the Oil and Gas industry at the start of her career with a passion to drive change in environmental resource, Djamila’s tech journey is marked by a desire to optimise both technological development and societal impact. Using “AI for good” is a key component to her work in Mind Senses Global and her overall stance on AI usage in business.

Believing that “AI is more than a technology—it’s a way of thinking,” Djamila offers invaluable insights into how technology leaders can ethically harness AI to boost productivity and efficiency. This episode is an expert guide into AI and a perfect overview into some of the key points explored on this series so far. 

Time stamps

·       What excites Djamila most about the future of AI (02:27)

·       Why Djamila joined the oil and gas industry (06:23)

·       What is AI? (13:51)

·       Corporate lessons that were key for entrepreneurship (19:12)

·       What are AI hallucinations? (25:36)

·       Importance of human influence in AI (31:37)

·       Being more environmentally efficient with AI (36:00)

·       Battling bias with AI (42:12)

·       The key to AI consultations (48:41)

·       Combatting job displacement within AI (54:34)

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This week’s guest was part of a vision to build a “software powerhouse” through innovating SaaS like never before. Sridhar Iyengar, MD Europe at Zoho Corporation, joined the company at the time it was founded, and over the last 28 years, has played a crucial part in its success.

Navigating the scale-up phase through the dotcom boom, Sridhar’s journey within Zoho has been marked by the shift from telecoms to cloud computing, to more recently the advancement of AI. Throughout each technological shift, one thing has remained the same: Sridhar’s passion for innovating the software landscape.

By helping create a platform that can scale up to meet the needs of a changing society, Sridhar is a leader who is driven by ensuring the sustainability of SaaS for the future. 

Time stamps 

• What does good leadership mean to Sridhar? (02:02) 
• Growing your career whilst growing a business (03:00) 
• The impact of the dotcom boom (09:00) 
• Accelerating growth in a changing technology landscape (10:50) 
• The biggest differences between the European and Asian tech markets (14:04) 
• Identifying your competitors (16:24) 
• The effect of AI on SaaS (18:15) 
• How Zoho is training employees for AI readiness (22:40) 
• Achieving balance as a leader (31:10) 

*Book recommendation- The Culture Map, Erin Meyer https://www.amazon.co.uk/Culture-Map-Decoding-People-Cultures/dp/1610392760/ref=asc_df_1610392760?tag=bingshoppinga-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80401845130381&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584001419460783&psc=1 

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Gareth interviews Ed Dixon, CEO of Bayezian, a talent incubator who aim to bridge the gap between education and industry by providing vocational coaching and placements services within Data Analytics and Data Science. We discussed setting up a business in 2020,  Gareth interviews Ed Dixon, CEO of Bayezian, a talent incubator who aim to bridge the gap between education and industry by providing vocational coaching and placement services within Data Analytics and Data Science. We discussed setting up a business in 2020,  acquiring Talent in the current climate, and adapting to change. 

https://www.bedigitaluk.com/

Gareth interviews Gareth Lewis the CEO of Delio. Gareth set up Delio 5 years ago at the age of 25 and now oversee's a trans-Atlantic operation, providing a white-label software platform to organisations like investment banks, wealth managers, and family offices. They have exciting growth plans and a very bright future. We talk about growth, culture and maintaining productivity and culture through this lockdown period.

https://www.bedigitaluk.com/

Gareth interviews Henri Moissinac  a computer science PhD from Paris who set up a highly successful e-commerce platform called iBazar in the late 90s which firstly was in competition with then got acquired by eBay in 2001. Henri then went on to work for the likes of Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook and Travis Kalanick at Uber, leading mobile strategy. Notably, Henri was instrumental in taking Facebook from 1 million to 1 billion mobile users during his tenure. His latest venture is DOTT, an exciting endeavor with a mission to make inner cities free of cars and pollution by way of their dockless, shared electrical scooters and bikes as alternatives for short-distance travel.

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Gareth interviews entrepreneur and philanthropist, Michael Tobin OBE who has had a colourful career from moving pianos around Old Kent Road to leading one of the biggest data centre companies in the world. An amazing story full of value. We cover pitfalls, comebacks and the impact of the recent pandemic on UK business.

https://www.bedigitaluk.com/

This month Gareth interviews, Gloucestershire based tech entrepreneur Chris Morling. Whilst working for Oracle and encouraged by his partner, Chris decided to take the plunge and set up his first business in 1999, a financial directory website and then went on to create over 50 websites in the early days of the affiliate marketing boom. 

With ambitions to create a business that made a real difference, money.co.uk was born and Chris spent the next 10 years building this innovative company into a market leader culminating in a lucrative exit in 2018. He is now embarking on a new adventure studee.com which help's students find international university places online. Some real snippets of wisdom from a true entrepreneur.

https://www.bedigitaluk.com/

Dave Chaplin is a prominent commentator and campaigner in the opposition to the off-payroll regulations and is the Founder of contractorcalculator.co.uk and ir35shield.co.uk. Dave has an impressive breadth of knowledge on this subject and delivers a narrative to thousands of UK based contractors through the various social media channels as this unfolds.  We discuss the story and initial intent of ir35 legislation from its conception in 1999 under Gordon Brown, through to the recent changes and entrance into the private sector and how this affects PSC's, SME owners and large companies who utilise contingent worker’s. 

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This month Gareth interviews Chief Technology Advocate of Starling Bank, Jason Maude. Starling Bank have spearheaded a new wave of challenger banks, who have managed, through technology innovation, to disrupt an industry which has remained largely unchanged for 150 years. Jason talks about his progression from being an engineer within an asset management consultancy through to becoming a tech leader in a rapidly growing organisation, built upon the objective of disrupting a broken banking system. We cover everything from Agile v Waterfall to the social impact of a cashless society. A fascinating conversation. 

https://www.bedigitaluk.com/