GCS Connect: Leaders
By GCS Connect
GCS Connect: LeadersOct 02, 2020
Elizabeth Cowper makes the business case for Diversity and how you can improve your workplace with it
Elizabeth Cowper, Founder and CEO of Ludo, works with companies to provide support at all stages of their diversity journey. She explains the business importance of diversity, how it looks in a variety of corporate backgrounds, and the excitement of a startup environment. We also talk about how even the smallest steps can help to improve a workplace.
Elizabeth Cowper has over 20 years of HR leadership experience and is a working mother of 3 and Founder of Ludo. Ludo provides multi-award winning tech for inclusion in the workplace.Elizabeth spent her HR career working for brands such as Planet Organic, Harvey Nichols, LVMH and Tapestry. Tapestry is the umbrella company for Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman where Elizabeth was VP HR Europe, Global Head of Wellbeing and on the Global DEI Committee. Elizabeth has been described as the ‘Culture Adjuster’ and was listed in the HR Most Influential Awards 5 years straight.
Elizabeth understands how to engage talent, drive wellbeing in the workplace, power the success of women at work and create a strong culture of inclusion. It’s her thing.
In 2022 Ludo won Inclusion Initiative of the year by Corporate Livewire and Rising Stars in Corporate Wellbeing. Ludo won Global HR Tech of the Year 2023. Elizabeth has been listed as one of 10 Most Futuristic Business Women Pioneering Innovation 2022 and Top Five Unstoppable Women Leaders to Watch 2023.
S4: E09 - Pri Alagoda explains the CISO role & information security in the education sector
Pri Alagoda breaks down the nuances of a CISO role and how it has evolved across the industry over the years. He dives into what information security truly means, the further education sector, and building risk capacity.
Pri has over 28 years of experience in the technology industry, with 16 of those years focused on leading, designing and implementing comprehensive organisation wide security programs and transformation projects. He also has a successful track record of achieving and maintaining security certifications for businesses across numerous sectors.
As a pragmatic security leader, his key personal aim is ensuring that the benefits and aspirations of enhanced cyber security be clearly understood at all levels of the organisation, not just at board level.
Pri is a firm believer that robust security protection can be achieved whilst maximising budgetary efficiencies, and that fostering an organisation wide ethos of good security practices and improved cyber awareness can continually drive innovation and growth.
S4: E08 - Jim Newman thinks outside the box when it comes to building cybersecurity culture
Jim joins us for the leader series to discuss developing cyber platforms in a start up environment, building a culture of security, and looking outside the box when it comes to building a cyber team.
He also mentions the essential things that you should be doing when focusing on cyber and security and the ongoing battle of automation in cyber.
Its important to think about cyber within a supply chain and the risk of third parties.
Stepping into the CISO role at Capco in early 2023, Jim leads the internal Information Security Team, focused primarily on supporting business needs. With an eclectic background and diverse skills, Jim brings a distinctive perspective to cybersecurity, solidifying his image as a versatile, dynamic leader. An innovative problem solver, he has built high-performing teams, implemented cost-effective solutions and delivered impactful security programs for startups and scale-ups during periods of hypergrowth.
Jim has spoken at a number conferences, tackling a range of issues including insider threat, incident response, the challenges of hiring cyber professionals in a demanding market and he speaks with passion about his advocacy for diversity and neurodiversity in the industry.
Noted for his ability to distil complex technical risk scenarios into comprehensible terms, often employing unconventional metaphors, Jim has built trust and understanding with a broad spectrum of stakeholders. His capability to execute ambitious programs within tight timeframes and restricted resources have cemented his reputation as a progressive, dependable, and grounded leader.
S4: E07 - Thom Singer shares how he solidified Austin as a leading technology hub
Thom joined ATC a year ago. The Austin Technology Council is a 30-year organization that works to build community in the Austin tech sector. Now, Austin has emerged as one of the world's leading technology hubs to look out for. Some takeaways...
Be a part of your community as it drives important collaboration. Building business trust is key and this comes through face-to-face interaction. You can still build connections within a hybrid working model. Thom Singer is the CEO at the Austin Technology Council and a keynote speaker. He is dedicated to promoting community, collaboration, and conversations and helping people find more success with their human connections. He was hired to help the Austin Tech Council to retool their mission and help promote the future growth of tech companies in Central Texas. In today's world we need people more than ever. Thom Singer has been helping people get more engaged in their communities for over 15 years, and deeply believes that a strong network is the secret weapon for success in our digital world.
S4: E06 - Suhail Khan leads with retrospection & learning while prioritizing culture fit
Suhail Khan, Director of Development, Programming, & Engineering at Huawei, talks with us about working in an agile environment and dealing with the challenges that arise, how software is universal across industry, and learning from yours (and other people's) mistakes as a leader. He also discusses taking a retrospective viewpoint, the importance of culture fit as much as tech fit, and the excitement of working for a global leader. Suhail is a Software industry leader with vast experience in scaling consumer-centric products and services within blue chips and innovative start-ups, having worked across diverse industries such as IoT, Business Software, Renewable Energy, and Telecommunications. Currently, Suhail is transforming the consumer business of Huawei in Europe as the Director of Development, Programming, and Engineering, where he manages cross-regional agile teams. Suhail has also authored columns for international newspapers focusing on digital transformation and is an active keynote speaker at technical conferences and podcasts. If you enjoyed this video, please remember to Like & Subscribe! For further information, please visit: Website: https://uk.gcsrecruitment.com/connect/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RecruitmentGcs Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gcsrecruitment/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GCSRecruitment
S4: E05 - Elizabeth Press uses data for business ROI, news, and talks industry strategy
Elizabeth joins us on this episode to speak about using data as an effective tool for business and how the investment that you make in it should provide a good return. She also talks about the problem with buying software products without a real strategy, the excitement of running a blog and an online community, and the dangers of overhiring and the resulting problems it is causing in the tech community. It should be the industry's responsibility to stop this practice.
Elizabeth Press is Creator and Owner of D3M Labs, a data blog and community dedicated to getting value out of data. D3M Labs entails a blog, as well as in-person and online events, including the D3M Labs Stammtisch.
As a Director of Data and Head of Business Intelligence at Berlin-based scale-ups, Elizabeth built high performing, cross-domain data organizations. 2015-2020 D3M Labs (1.0) was a data innovation and digitalization strategy consultancy. Before D3M Labs, she built up and managed business intelligence and advanced analytics programs for Dell. Previous to working at Dell, Elizabeth worked in management consulting and comes with a background in finance and strategy.
If you are interested in the online and in-person events, as well as insights, from D3M Labs, you can sign up for the newsletter: bit.ly/40m6vAF
S4: E04 - Jake Kimber brings us inside the gaming industry and its growth of tech talent
We speak to Jake Kimber, Director of Global Talent Acquisition at Pixel United, about how he overcomes challenges as a Talent leader and the difference between gaming and other tech industries.
He shares his insights on developing more diversity in an industry and how it can benefit society, building on EVP to help grow headcount and the business, and the importance of buy-in at all levels in the talent process.
Jacob is a Talent Acquisition specialist with over 12 years of experience managing global in-house recruitment departments for large software and gaming companies. Starting at Epsilon, he built the in-house recruitment function from scratch, supporting global recruitment. After winning “best in-house recruiter” at both the IHR and FIRM awards, he has worked for other software companies and now resides in gaming. Currently he is Director, Global Talent Acquisition and Operations at Pixel United, a leading mobile games publisher. As part of his role at Pixel United, he managed the growth of Product Madness from 80 to 500+ employees.
S4: E03 - Matt Cook uses digital strategy and innovation to drive growth
Matt Cook, an accomplished, award-winning sales and inbound marketing leader and expert in all aspects of business development, joins us on the Leaders Series this week! We discuss with Matt how the success of a business can be largely based on sound business processes, using digital and innovation to drive growth, and how to scale up a business in a way that will guarantee positive results. Matt also shares his experience breaking into the relatively new industry such as cannabis in the US and how to use data to make the right decisions.
Matthew Cook is a serial entrepreneur and has over 25 years of sales and management experience in inbound sales and marketing and recruitment. As the founder of SalesForce Search & SalesHub, he has helped small, medium and Fortune 500 companies (Such as Apple, Johnson & Johnson and IBM) recruit, train and get the most out of their sales teams. In short, his career has been focused on helping companies grow revenue.
S4: E02 - Simon Blake, OBE, drives mental health & wellbeing in today's workplace
We speak with Simon Blake OBE, CEO of Mental Health First Aid England, about being aware of using mental health as a catch-all term, how wellbeing can drive productivity and understanding mental health as a leader and how to implement best practices in today's workplace.
Simon Blake OBE joined MHFA England as Chief Executive in October 2018, leading the social enterprise to achieve its vision of normalising society’s attitudes and behaviours around mental health, through training one in ten of the population. He Chairs the Dying Matters Campaign and the Support after Suicide Partnership. He is also a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute was awarded an OBE for services to the voluntary sector and young people. He enjoys running, equestrian eventing and his dog.
S4: E01 - JaJuan Smart leads with enlightenment, DEI strategy, and lessons from a military background.
JaJuan Smart, Founder of Maktub Limitless, kicks off our 2023 season about workplace culture and DEI strategy. He talks about making DEI a people-first strategy, building a collaborative culture through inclusion, having humility and listening when a leader is involved in DEI, and the importance of constantly re-evaluating your goals. JaJuan also speaks about how a military background can form you as a leader and the principles of SEE (to Serve, Enlighten, and Excel).
JaJuan Smart (he/him/his) is a change management advocate and diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant. As a 14-year Service-Disabled United States Air Force veteran, he has honed high-level leadership, organizational, and multi-level interpersonal communication skills throughout his time serving in the military, and while visiting and living in other countries. JaJuan’s relational leadership abilities have allowed him to use his experiences and insight to understand the perspectives of other people, form intercultural alliances, and apply learned concepts to business and institutional practices.
Leaders S3: E13 - Sarah Longdon (Dorset Council)
Sarah Longdon, Head of Service Planning at Public Health Dorset, takes us through change during the COVID crisis, managing different factions in the UK Public Sector, and remaining calm and communicating well during adversity. She also explains the difference between Public Health and NHS and shares her career journey from the Finance to Heathcare industry.
Sarah is a Change and Transformation leader in local government and previously in financial services. She works with leaders to define and deliver strategic objectives and manage change programmes, bridging strategy, technology and operations. Sarah communicates using a personable style with calm and reflective listening skills to create successful relationships. She also builds successful teams by being open and collaborative, inspiring and motivating through quiet authority. In her 12+ years in local government in Dorset, she has: delivered organisational change, strategic planning and a response structure for covid-19 in Public Health Dorset; overseen the implementation programme to create the new Dorset Council; developed the strategic programme to transform local government in Dorset for the Chief Executives and Leaders; and developed the business case for change, planned the political, legal, organisational and communication elements of a significant and unique transformation of local government structure in Dorset - just to name a few accomplishments.
Working in financial services, she managed multiple programmes of change activities including replacement IT platforms, organisational restructures, switching banking provider and platforms. She lives on the coast in Dorset, and enjoy this beautiful location by trail running, cycling and sea swimming, and put that all together with the occasional triathlon. She also volunteers as chair of the Academy Advisory Committee at their local secondary school.
Leaders S3: E12 - Jennifer Cox (Tenable)
We are joined by Jennifer Cox this week, Security Engineering Manager at Tenable, a global leader in Vulnerability Management. Jennifer shares with us why cybersecurity is so exciting and how important it is to make 'best practices' a priority in this industry. She also explains how she grew into her leadership role, how we can use diversity to promote customer service, and the importance of mentorship.
Jennifer Cox is a Security Engineering Manager at Tenable, a global leader in Vulnerability Management.
After studying Theatre Studies and Media Production, she began working in an admin role at a tech company based in Ireland. Here, she started to learn the various tools of the trade and skillsets that enabled her to progress to a tech support role handling retail, payroll, and accounting software. After working there for 11 years, Jennifer sought a new challenge and joined Tenable in 2016 where she has achieved several promotions and awards, including PCR Top 25 Women in Tech in 2019 and 2020 & Outstanding Contribution to Women in Tech Ireland in 2021.
Leaders S3: E11 - Ihab Mahna (Zeetta Networks)
Ihab Mahna, CEO of Zeetta Networks, is disrupting the idea of how the telecoms industry is seen and how we all think about connectivity. Ihab shares his ideas on providing great customer service, how networks link into the cloud, and how we can change our mentality to deliver innovation.
Ihab is an accomplished telecom and IT executive with over 20 years of global experience turning ideas into winning strategies, solutions and successful product launches. He has a track record in the leadership of several startups and taking their innovations to market, resulting in successful exits. His experience covers product development, product management, solutions sales and business development, within large companies as well as early and late stage startups. He offers his technical and business expertise to help organizations with this challenge and grow their business, both local market and internationally.
Leaders S3: E10 - Andrew Strain (AAC Clyde Space)
How does Space connect with our daily lives? David catches up with Andrew Strain, CTO of AAC Clyde Space, who shares with us how a space and satellite business is building software to collect and use data in ways to positively impact the way we live. They also discuss how the business and leadership has evolved, the layers of planning that go into executing a satellite mission, and they use innovation to drive the industry forward while keeping sustainability a priority.
In his role as CTO, Andrew contributes a wide range of skills, such as systems engineering knowledge, product development, manufacturing, project management, quality and business development. While at Clyde Space, including as Chief Engineer, Andrew has built more than 15 years of experience in developing and delivering small satellites. Andrew has a MEng, Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Business Studies, University of Strathclyde.
Leaders S3: E09 - Hira Ali (Advancing Your Potential)
Be inspired by our guest, Hira Ali, CEO of Advancing Your Potential. We speak about her experience being an entrepreneur in various countries, how to become an ally of DEI, building a diverse culture by being proactive and aware, and creating the best workforce for all - not some.
An inspiring leadership trainer and career coach and an acclaimed writer and speaker, Hira Ali has been committed to helping others achieve their inherent potential throughout her award-winning career. Hira is also a successful entrepreneur who has launched several businesses to support her mission. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Telegraph, BBC, Harpers Bazaar, Independent, CBC, Huff Post, and Entrepreneur, among hundreds of other print, radio and television outlets, and has earned Hira several prestigious honours and awards. She was recently appointed as The Senior Advisory Team member at The Benedictine University Illinois L.E.A.D.S leadership program for undergraduate women and has joined WLG’S Conversations with Men Advisory Council.
Hira was also included in a list by DiverseIn of global D&I voices to follow on LinkedIn. In addition, she has been featured as a role model in the book Girls Who Do You Want To Be alongside phenomenal world changers. She is passionate about empowering women and ethnic minorities, closing the gender gap and advocating diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
In 2019, Hira released her first book entitled Her Way To The Top: A Guide to Smashing the Glass Ceiling which received outstanding testimonials worldwide. Hira's second companion book—Her Allies: A Practical Toolkit to Help Men Lead Through Advocacy—invites men to join the gender equality movement and has received extensive media coverage and acclaim. For more on Hira, please visit www.advancingyourpotential.com. You can follow her on Twitter, LinkedIn, Insta or Facebook.
Leaders S3: E08 - Elizabeth Pienaar (Sage)
This week, we catch up with Product Engineering Manager at Sage, Elizabeth Pienaar, to discuss the importance of putting the customer first - especially in tough economic moments - and ways to improve the decision-making process as leaders. David and Elizabeth speak about bridging the divide between support and development, the value of diverse teams for customers, partners and employees, and the importance of working in a collaborative and agile environment.
Elizabeth is a Product Engineering Manager, a Scrum professional, and a committed advocate for racial, cultural, and gender diversity in technology. She has over 16 years of technical and leadership experience in 10 companies, from start-ups to multinationals.
Since joining Sage in 2016 to manage Sage CRM, she has been the Diversity & Inclusion Champion for Sage Ireland, launched UKI Gender Alliance @ Sage, and founded Women@Sage Ireland, leading initiatives to achieve flexible working for colleagues, establish a mentoring programme, and promote gender-neutral recruitment.
Having started her career as a musician, Elizabeth has a Master of Music degree from the University of Cape Town, and a BSc in Computer Science and Psychology.
Leaders S3: E07 - Mradul Khandelwal (LogiNext)
Our guest this week is Mradul Khandelwal, Global VP of Business Development at LogiNext. Listen to his thoughts on rapidly increasing expectations as a company grows, dealing with different cultures within a multi-national sales team, and being a part of a highly mission-driven company.
Mradul Khandelwal has been the core drive behind fast-scaling and high client retention at LogiNext. With multiple sales and tech aces up his sleeve, Mradul has become the prime spokesperson for highly engaging business sales and relationships. He has been at the helm of sales for more than 10 years. The central pillar for LogiNext, Mradul has supervised its rise to 150 enterprise clients across 25 countries.
He is an avid and passionate speaker on the rapid advancements in technology as the key enabler for logistics, through live delivery route planning, auto-package allocation, live driver tracking, and even voice-controlled logistics. Channeling his learning from leading the business development for one of the fastest-growing companies in the world, he regularly engages young entrepreneurs and his followers with best practices and deep B2B sales insights.
Leaders S3: E06 - Stefano Cantarelli (Mavenir)
Stefano Cantarelli, Chief Marketing Officer & Executive Vice President at Mavenir, joins us today to speak about the importance of a rebrand for the culture and vision of a company, moving a company from bespoke solutions to a product portfolio, and the importance of competition for innovation. He gives us additional insight into Open RAN and his experience in being part of a company that is making real changes to an industry.
Stefano has spent almost three decades in the Telco industry and brings leadership in technology vision, innovative IP solutions in the mobile and convergent communication and also operational excellence in major technology transformation cycles and introduction in the overall Telecommunication market worldwide. Stefano is responsible for helping Mavenir expand its market share as a partner of choice for its global customer base, and ensures that Mavenir continues to drive innovation that provides value to customers and agility to their technology. Recently, Stefano was driving the Network and IT strategy for O2 UK and defining the Virtualisation Strategy in the Telco Cloud project. Previously, Stefano was CTO and R&D Vice President of Acision and at Huawei in UK as Vice President of Carrier Networks for UK and Ireland, and at Vodafone, he was responsible for the network engineering & operations, transforming the infrastructure and launching 3G and internet services together.
Leaders S3: E05 - Maryse Gordon (RepRisk)
We welcome Maryse Gordon to the series this week, who recently placed 1st on the EMpower Ethnic Minority Role Model List as 2021 Future Leader. As Partnerships and Business Development Manager at RepRisk, she shares with us how she uses international opportunities as a way to become a better leader, the cultural differences for ESG and D&I between Europe and the US, and using data to drive organisational change. Learn a few ways to work with your organisation to improve D&I and how to develop an ESG strategy for your business.
Maryse has worked with financial services between London and New York for over 15 years and gained a wealth of knowledge and experience ranging from product development and support, to product management and business development. Staring her career at Hewlett Packard, progressing onto Logica and then London Stock Exchange Group, Maryse spent 10 years working across global regulatory compliance, risk management, data solution, fixed income analytics, ESG and sustainable investment analytics offerings at LSEG.
Maryse now represents RepRisk as a Partnership and Business Development Manager actively contributing to the growth of the RepRisk business via strategic partnership engagement.
Maryse has played an active role in several diversity and inclusion initiatives throughout her career, holding leadership positions for the LSEG Women’s and Black Employee Networks for many years. Maryse recently placed 1st on the EMpower Ethnic Minority Role Model List as 2021 Future Leader, and previously won the 2017 Markets Media Women In Technology Rising Star in Regulation and 2018 LSEG CEO Award for Integrity as part of Women’s Network in the Americas.
Leaders S3: E04 - Paul Ruppert (Global Point View)
We discuss characteristics of great leaders with Paul Ruppert, Growth Strategy and Business Consultant at Global Point View, with reference to 'Mission, Mates, Self' and using military experience to become a better business leader. He talks about the sheer scale of innovation and change in telecoms, the building blocks of a great business from start-up to megacorp, and retaining passion over a long career. All in all, keep the answer simple and focus on the outcome in business.
Paul Ruppert has over two decade’s experience in commercializing telecommunications technology, specifically focusing on the global use of text messages by enterprises connecting with their end customers. He’s an “ambidextrous executive” having deep experience in start-ups as well as global Fortune 100 Enterprises, including “going global from the start” with a startup, and selling it five years later for $500M. As a strategic consultant to enterprises developing conversation commerce, his clients include Facebook, MasterCard, Western Union, Liveperson, as well as PE and VC firms. His functional skills span business development, award winning product development, global commercialization as well as framing M&A thesis on deals ranging from $5m to $60B. In addition, he’s co-authored two SMS related patents, as well as having been a professional ski instructor for 25 years.
Leaders S3: E03 - Kelby Mahoney (VMware)
Joining us this week is Kelby Mahoney, Program Manager at VMware in New York City. Kelby discusses utilising various programs to facilitate entry to the world of technology and the importance of having a company committed to diversity and opportunity. She shares her tips on overcoming imposter syndrome by “leaning into fear” and how DE&I benefits us all. David and Kelby also touch on cloud computing and multi cloud technology and how there is an increasing desire for data security in the USA and globally.
Kelby is a Program Manager in the Office of the CTO at VMware based out of NYC. She is an avid reader, passionate coach, and innovative technologist.
Leaders S3: E02 - Liz Fulham (TAMI)
David catches up with Liz Fulham, Founder & CEO of TAMI, to discuss creating a worldwide hybrid workforce, staying engaged with your customers as a leader, and the importance of building data solutions as opposed to data lakes. Liz talks about making sure you are hiring people better than you and their journey to success through taking on bigger players within a market.
Liz Fulham is an Irish business executive who has been the chief executive officer of TAMI since 2014. TAMI is a market intelligence & sales leads generation company with 123M companies and 611M contacts. Liz startup TAMI to help B2B sales & marketing teams to hit their revenue targets. Previously Liz working on Fortune 500 companies such as Microsoft, IBM, Paypal, Telefonica.
Leaders S3: E01 - Chris Byington (Updater)
We kick off an exciting Season 3 with Chris Byington, VP of Data at Updater! Chris talks about using data to improve customer experience and outcomes, working for a company where data plays a central part in growth, and developing a motivated and passionate team. He also shares his advice on the best way to collaborate between different teams, making sure that you are working on projects that are useful for company goals and developing software that improves experiences in a field (proptech) which is very fragmented.
Chris Byington is Vice President of Data at Updater, a New York based technology company that makes moving easier for the 45M Americans who move every year. At Updater Chris is responsible for the company's holistic data strategy, from core data warehousing to using data to drive personalization. Before Updater, Chris was head of analytics at Heroku, a Salesforce company, and he holds a Bachelor's from Pomona College in California.
Leaders S2: E26 - Ron Daugherty & Deanna Miller (Daugherty Business Solutions)
We had a brilliant conversation with Ron Daugherty, CEO, and Deanna Miller, Vice President, of Daugherty Business Solutions this week. These two leaders talk about what it means to build a successful and significant company, how to expand globally while keeping a company culture, and having a long-term plan to build a values-based company. Learn how they are building customer specific solutions and about their project that is helping people access technology careers.
Ron Daugherty is President and CEO of Daugherty Business Solutions, which he founded in 1985. Under Ron’s leadership, Daugherty has become an innovator in delivering technology-enabled business solutions, a destination for career-oriented technology experts, and a leader in strengthening the communities in which we live and work.
Dee Miller is an accomplished, senior business leader who has orchestrated and led successful enterprise-scale agile transformations, architected and implemented critical business reorganizations, and currently serves as Vice President for technology and management consulting firm, Daugherty Business Solutions. In her role at Daugherty, Dee has overseen double-digit growth of their largest line of business, and the company's cross-continental, global expansion. She is also involved with several charitable organizations in and about her community.
Leaders S2: E25 - Jean-Claude Thompson (Kraft Heinz)
Jean-Claude Thompson, Global Category Lead - Contingent Workforce and BPO at The Kraft Heinz Company, joins us for a great discussion this week! JC and David touch on the future of the contingent workforce, the importance of a workforce plan for each large organisation, and being flexible and authentic as a leader. They also talk about the complex challenges of an international workforce, choosing the best partners, and working in collaboration with fellow professionals in other organisations to develop best practise.
Jean-Claude is an experienced Global Procurement professional with a demonstrated history of deploying strategic procurement strategies within complex multinational organisations.
Leaders S2: E24 - Edgar Rivera (Dream To Succeed)
Edgar Rivera is the Director of Technology from Dream To Succeed and joins us to talk about creating a global network of undiscovered talent. David and Edgar cover a number of topics from innovating and disrupting an entire industry to the importance of machine learning in today’s economy. He shares his advice on providing solutions by identifying the key problems first and having the right mindset as a leader.
Edgar currently works in the UK as a Cloud Consultant and also leads as Director of Technology for a non-profit organization called DreamToSucceed, which focuses on helping and inspiring other latinos to achieve their dreams and develop their skills in the STEM area. He is an experienced Software Engineer and very passionate about server-side web development, web design, rich internet applications, and leading-edge technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence. Edgar is originally from Medellin (Colombia) and developed his career in Europe working for top 500 fortune companies and big banks, developing and implementing applications that serve millions of users. He is also a certified Master Coach in Neuro-Linguistic Programming.
Leaders S2: E23 - Phil Blows & Louis Quaintance (Accru Finance)
This week, we have the CEO and CTO of Accru Finance on the show! Phil Blows and Louis Quaintance tell us about how to make cryptocurrency accessible based around a good user experience and how the tech platform was created to allow for faster growth of the software. They also share their experience in developing an entirely remote start-up and the type of talent that you need for an innovation-led company.
Phil has spent the last 15 years building and scaling Fintechs. Initially working as a trader and investment manager, he went on to lead teams tasked with scaling retail platforms to mass market adoption in both the B2B and B2C space. As part of this effort, he interviewed over 10,000 people about their finances and where they were struggling and used this knowledge to develop tools aimed at improving the financial health of the UK. Phil is the Founder and CEO of Accru, a startup aiming to make the high-yields available in crypto safe and accessible to everyone. Phil is passionate about improving the world's financial health. He is the author of The Money Triangle proceeds of which supports various financial education charities.
Louis has spent the last 15 years building highly scalable and well tested full stack web and mobile applications. These days he specialises in React, TypeScript and AWS infrastructure. He is currently CTO of Accru, a startup aiming to make the high-yields available in crypto safe and accessible to everyone.
Leaders S2: E22 - Tony Healy (Ticketer Group)
We delve into technology within the Public transport industry this week with Tony Healy, Group Chief Technology & Innovation Officer at Ticketer Group. Tony shares how to build simplicity for the customer, keeping fresh and innovative through collaboration, and building leadership in the hybrid working model. He explains why as a leader, you need to know your team is more important than yourself.
Tony is currently Group Chief Technology & Innovation Officer at Ticketer & FARA AS, where he provides overall technical vision and innovative strategies as to how technology will be used in the company and leads the Software Engineering, IT and DevOps, and Security teams.
Tony has worked within high-growth global industries such as Distribution, EdTech, Pharmaceuticals, Insurance, Transportation and Technology, where he has performed as a visionary leader building high performing teams and built business-enhancing systems and services. Tony believes in establishing teams with core values of hard work, respect, and trust while encouraging them to see the bigger strategic picture and driving reality and fact over perception and opinion. Tony is noted for his love of mentoring and coaching people, helping them realise their full potential.
Leaders S2: E21 - Aris Manshor (RELX)
David sits down with Aris Manshor, Engineering Manager at RELX, to discuss dealing with the ups and downs of leadership and providing consistency and support as a leader. They touch on how to ensure data compliance and data relevance, the ever changing world of energy, and creating a team where everyone has input.
Aris Manshor is a Software Engineering Manager at RELX, a Global Fortune 500 company providing business information to customers. Prior to working with RELX he has held senior positions at MasterCard, EE Mobile and Idenprotect. He has more than 20 years of experience in leading technical teams to deliver mission critical applications and platforms especially with new best of breed technologies and architecture in order to improve customer experience and drive new revenue growth through innovative products. He discusses leadership difficulties and challenges during critical periods of delivering complex technical products.
Leaders S2: E20 - Adriele Parker & Caren Young (DEI In a Box)
We have two awesome guests on for our 20th episode of Season 2! Adriele Parker, Career Coach and Cofounder of Adriele Parker, LLC. and DEI In a Box, and Caren Young, President and Cofounder of The Professional Adult and DEI In a Box. They cover the DEI journey and how to begin it, making sure the DEI journey is not a tick list but a cultural change, and asking yourself “why” DEI is important and how you will judge success. Both ladies stress the importance of communicating and listening to people inside the organisation and share their experience starting a business as a partnership. You'll also learn some tricks on how to build a training platform like a software product and how to develop HR projects in an agile way.
Adriele Parker helps leaders, teams, and organizations improve cultural competency and build more equitable & inclusive spaces for all. She also helps mid-level professionals of color [re]discover their passion(s) and gain clarity on how to reach the next chapter of their careers. She started her journey in career development in 2008. Since then, she has helped numerous individuals think strategically about their personal and professional lives, helping them find clarity, set goals, and take action. In 2015, she began working in the tech recruiting space, and in 2018, after having managed several diversity-related programs and initiatives, she transitioned into diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) full-time.
Caren Young is the Founder and President of The Professional Adult, a consultancy focusing on building solutions, people and teams through training, coaching, workshops and strategic development while integrating diversity, equity and inclusion into all facets of our work lives. Using her background in Advertising, Product Management and People Management, Caren is able to drive data-driven solutions while honoring all of the intersections that are brought into the workplace.
Leaders S2: E19 - Chris Burrell (Landbay)
Chris Burrell, CTO at LANDBAY, joins us for this week's episode! He talks about building a strong lasting culture from the beginning of your business and what true Agile is and its advantages and disadvantages. He also shares their experience of having everything automated, working in a chaos testing environment, and the importance of people in a fast-paced agile tech environment.
Chris joined Landbay, a best in class buy to let mortgage lender start up as the lead software engineer and then became its CTO. With 10+ years’ of commercial experience, he designed, developed and continues to deliver the microservice architecture that was built from the ground-up to 50+ microservices. Prior to working with Landbay, his most recent roles involved helping architect and develop some of the largest UK customer-facing platforms in the UK, such as the EE online shop, Three, The AA, Vodafone, etc. Outside of his work life, Chris develops some open-source Bible study software.
Leaders S2: E18 - Ben Putley (Alkimi Exchange)
Ben Putley from Alkimi Exchange joins us for today's episode! As CEO & Co-founder of the world's first decentralized ad exchange, he explains building blockchain organisations as a disruptor, “saying yes before you say no” from a true entrepreneur, and selling new technologies into entrenched business models. He also shares his experience leading in a collaborative organisation and working with a vision while focusing on the day-to-day activity of starting a business - and making sure you get the balance right.
Ben has spent the last 10 years working in the advertising technology space; and has worked with the world's largest publishers to help them create and deliver effective digital ad products.
Leaders S2: E17 - Tanya Thomas (GDS Group)
Listen to Chief Sales Officer of GDS Group, Tanya Thomas, share how she adapts to handle business crises. She also explains how using communication to drive change can be effective (including the importance of over-communication), what it's like taking risks and travelling new paths, and her experience building a new platform during the pandemic.
Tanya joined GDS Group as CEO in 2018 moved to the U.S in June 2020 to take the lead in navigating our transformation to a Digital First event portfolio and scale the U.S commercial business. Currently trading +76% on pre-pandemic revenues. Previously, she was Group Sales Director for UBM PLC.
Leaders S2: E16 - Niamh Muldoon (OneLogin)
Niamh Muldoon joins us this week as Global Data Protection Officer and Senior Director in Trust and Security from OneLogin. We learn about the importance of having the confidence to drive projects and take on challenges as a leader, how data can be gold and how to secure and benefit from it, and the innovative products that allow data to work for the customer. She also touches on working with other female tech leaders and the uses and problems with GDPR.
Niamh Vianney Muldoon, award-winning information security thought leader with extensive expertise in creating and leading global security initiatives across multiple industries. Muldoon is OneLogin's Global DPO and Senior Director in Trust and Security, Based in Dublin, Ireland, Muldoon heads-up all things trust, security, and privacy for OneLogins EMEA operations. This includes driving sales, engineering and customer service activities across the region.
Leaders S2: E15 - Robert Elliott Smith (StrangeMap)
We catch up with Robert Elliott Smith from StrangeMap this week! This was a really interesting conversation, with topics of discussion including AI being used to support decisions rather than make decisions, understanding the strengths of humans alongside technology and the power and dangers of algorithms as a leader, and realising the importance of solving the customers problem. Robert also shares his experience in having an academic background as a business leader.
Dr. Robert Smith is a technologist, complexity scientist, and entrepreneur. He has been working in AI for 30 years, for clients across the private and public sectors. He is also the author or Rage Inside the Machine: The Prejudice of Algorithms and How to Stop the Internet Making Bigots of Us All, which was shortlisted as UK Best Business Book of the Year.
Leaders S2: E14 - Andy Lord (WAWWA)
This week, we discuss being an entrepreneurial thinker, surrounding yourself with the right people, and understanding that no leader has all the answers with Andy Lord from WAWWA. He also touches on being a leader through attitude and value and changing the world of virtual learning using mixed reality platforms.
Andy is a consultant in disruptive and immersive education, a serial entrepreneur, and professional ambassador for exciting brands.
Leaders S2: E13 - Andy Grzess (Smarttech247)
Andy Grzess, Chief Technology Officer at Smarttech247, is our guest for this week! We discuss with Andy the process of building a team based on innovation and ideas, his personal experience as a leader, not following stereotypes when hiring, and using cybersecurity as an enabler.
Andy is an experienced CTO with a passion for cybersecurity. In his role at Smarttech247, Andy leads the delivery of next generation cyber defence technologies and services to global enterprise customers. Andy dedicated the last eight years of his 20-year IT tenure to cybersecurity, advising clients and peers on policy, technology, trends and architecture associated with security.
Leaders S2: E12 - Neil Redmond (PwC)
We have Neil Redmond, Director of Cybersecurity in PwC, on the show this week! He speaks with David about the increasing importance of security as a business enabler, the changing face of cybersecurity in our mobile world, and creating a leadership team based on trust and expertise. He also shares some advice for CEOs about listening to your CISO and CRO and predicts cybersecurity skills will likely become a standard requirement for all tech people in the future.
Neil Redmond is a Director of Cybersecurity in PwC, where he focuses on the TMT and Government and Healthcare sectors. Prior to joining PwC, Neil was CSO in Huawei Technologies Ireland and Senior Manager in Deloitte Ireland. Neil has extensive telecom experience from working in Eir and ComReg, so understands the commercial, operational and regulatory aspects of the telecom industry. Neil has 20 years of experience in the security and telecom industries and is a champion of the benefits of 5G and telecommunications in general in supporting a country’s economy.
Leaders S2: E11 - Mike Burke (BOE Varitronix)
This week, we got to sit down with Mike Burke, Managing Director of BOE Varitronix European Operations. Mike and David discuss how communication is the most important thing for a leader, running a global sales team, the macro economics of the electronics industry, and innovative technology pushing forward devices. They also talk about how to remain positive in challenging times - which can be difficult.
Mike Burke is Managing Director of BOE VX European Operations, responsible for 6 European Offices. BOE is the World’s largest manufacturer of liquid Crystal Displays and OLED displays, supplying screens for TV, mobile phone, laptop, tablet, monitor, medical, white goods, industrial and automotive applications.
Leaders S2: E10 - Claus Höfele (doctari)
In today's episode, David sits down with Head of Development at doctari, Claus Höfele!
Claus shares his experience of developing in a high speed, agile way while working in a highly regulated environment, making the transition from programmer to leader, the attractions of working in Berlin and the medtech industry, and producing a product with purpose. They also cover the innovative tech in the healthcare industry and automation within the staffing industry.
Claus is currently the Head of Development at doctari, the German market leader in workforce management for medical professionals. In his role, he supports product teams to deliver outstanding products by promoting participative decision making and servant leadership. Having lived and worked in Japan, Australia, and Germany, he is now based in Berlin with his family.
Leaders S2: E9 - Ewen Mcpherson (Discover Financial Services)
We have Ewen Mcpherson on our Leaders Series this week! As Senior Director of Application Development at Discover Financial Services, he speaks with David about running a large global team, building a development team that is passionate and diverse, the future of mobile payments, and financial technology.
Ewen has responsibilities for all application development and architecture for Discover Financial Services global payments networks: Discover Network, Diners Club International and Pulse. He is responsible for all BAU development of Switch, Settlement, Disputes and Boarding platforms as well as new green field digital wallet platform development. More recently, he has been overseeing the complete re-architecture of all 3 networks to single green field multi tenant platform.
Leaders S2: E8 - Yasin Rosowsky & Gemma Chambers (Arabesque)
We've got a special episode this week with two guests on the show from Arabesque! We invite Yasin Rosowsky, co-CEO, and Gemma Chambers, Head of Operations to the Leaders Series where they discuss with David the tech stack used to build an AI product, how AI can promote sustainability in the world of investment, and what it was like leading a software team during a product launch in a remote environment. They also talk about the importance of deep research to create great products.
Yasin Rosowsky is co–CEO of Arabesque AI, a tech company based in London which provides its clients a platform for creating customised, actively managed investment strategies powered by artificial intelligence. Previously, Yasin headed up AI Research at Arabesque Asset Management before he and his team were spun out to form Arabesque AI. Yasin’s research interests are in distributed intelligence and he holds a PhD from University College London in the field of machine learning applied to financial forecasting.
Gemma Chambers is the Head of Operations at Arabesque AI. After starting her career in Change Management Consultancy, Gemma was a Chief of Staff for two years before joining Arabesque in 2020. As Head of Operations Gemma is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the business, working closely with Corporate Functions to oversee HR, Finance, Recruitment, Planning, Strategy and more!
Leaders S2: E7 - Ross Humphrey (Validus)
For our episode 7 this week, we welcome Ross Humphrey, Tech Lead at Validus Risk Management, to the show! Ross discusses with David his experience joining a new team as a leader during lockdown, implementing new processes into a remote team, and the importance of strategy and vision in successful software development. They also talk about the differences between large corporate culture and working in a smaller firm and the changing workpace in finance and beyond.
Ross is the Technology Lead at Validus Risk Management. He manages a team of engineers across multiple disciplines. His focus is currently on scaling Validus’ technology offering using Cloud services and standardizing engineering approaches across the firm. He spends his down time with his daughter, playing guitar and doing sim racing.
Leaders S2: E6 - Deb Aspinall (BBC Studios Ltd.)
We welcome Deb Aspinall, Interim Consultant with BBC Studios Ltd., to Episode 6 of the Leaders Series! She discusses the main hiring challenges of the last year, guidance for those struggling to connect with their teams remotely and build engagement, and the staff attraction and retention landscape post-COVID.
Deb has worked as an HR Generalist and Resourcing Leader across Tech, Media and Entertainment for many years. In more recent years her focus has been on talent strategies for freelance populations in the gig economy.
Leaders S2: E5 - Norah Cullen (Salesforce)
David speaks with Norah Cullen, Senior Solution Engineering Manager at Salesforce, about driving people-based solutions, making sure you are present as a leader with remote teams, delivering solutions to customers who need to adapt quickly, and ensuring that diversity is also inclusive and is led from the top in a natural way. They also touch on the importance of data insights and collaboration to make business decisions and entering the tech industry without a tech background.
Norah Cullen is a Senior Solution Engineering Manager at Salesforce. She has 7 years of experience serving digital transformation to businesses of all sizes but is now passionately focused on helping small businesses to succeed in the cloud. Despite her technical role, Norah comes to the technology space from a decidedly non-technical background, with a belief that technology should serve us all.
Leaders S2: E4 - Ash Gawthorp (Ten10)
Ash Gawthorp, Co-founder of Ten10, discusses the strategy behind creating an academy business, the disconnect between computer science and the computing requirements in business, using the academy model to build diversity in the workplace, and training in a virtual environment.
Ash is one of the co-founders of Ten10 and has been with the business since 2008. He has 23 years experience across a wide range of engineering roles including hardware, software, performance and quality. Within Ten10 Ash has responsibility for the delivery, development and leadership of Ten10's Graduate Academy since it's creation in 2013.
Leaders S2: E3 - Mary McCormick (NetSuite)
David speaks to Mary McCormick, Senior Director of Sales at NetSuite Oracle, about the importance of passion as a sales leader, mastering different communication types in the post-COVID world, how 2020 was the year of connection, and how 2021 may be the year where we need to disconnect to prevent burnout.
Mary McCormick, Senior Director of Sales at NetSuite Oracle, has a focus on rebuilding sales teams by improving talent, processes, and redirecting motivation to achieve improved net-new revenue results. Mary is based in Austin, TX and joined the NetSuite team 5 ½ years ago before the company was acquired by tech giant Oracle in 2016. Mary has experience selling products and services to net-new clients, as well as retaining, renewing, and upselling current customer bases. Her passion for selling started when she sold advertising space door-to-door to local business owners, as consulting small businesses has always been, and still is, her ultimate motivation.
Leaders S2: E2 - Matt Dorian (Elsevier)
Matt Dorian and David talk about the mindset of a quality engineer and the importance of curiosity, the changing face of quality and automation, starting a new role in a virtual world, and using innovative technology to improve product quality.
Matt is a leader in software engineering quality assurance, currently Director of Quality Engineering at Elsevier. Matt focuses on promoting best practice and building teams that ensure high quality in the fast-paced world of Agile/DevOps Software engineering.
Leaders S2: E1 - Dave Fenton (Ancoris)
We're kicking off our season 2 with Dave Fenton, VP of Services at Ancoris, a Google Cloud services supplier. David sits down with Dave to talk about working in disruptive industries and future proofing your business, developing graduate communities within your business to keep your business fresh and competitive, and reacting quickly to business opportunities. The two Dave's also discuss the Google product set in the cloud, competition within the market, and learning from Google as a leader.
Dave has over 25 years of experience leading Service organisations at a worldwide, European, and UK level and joined Ancoris in 2011 to lead its services organisation, covering pre-sales support, project delivery, consultancy, support, training and software development.
Prior to joining Ancoris, he was Operations Director at Kroll OnTrack, providing technology-driven services and software for e-discovery into “Magic Circle” Law firms, and his experience also includes running Managed Desktop Services delivery across Europe at CSC Computer Sciences Corp (now DXC); delivering anti money laundering projects into global banks at Searchspace (including introducing one of the first SaaS offerings in the marketplace), service product management leadership at IBM, and Global support leadership at Sequent (now IBM).
Outside of work, Dave is a keen follower of most things rugby related having played or trained teams for many years (though he hung up his boots a few years ago), spending time riding his motorbike, or playing very random golf.
Leaders S1: E19 - Peter Heath
For our final episode of Season 1, David sits down with Peter Heath to discuss the resilience of the IT channel during economic upheaval, the changing role of a leader in a growing company, and the importance of focussing on the customer in a technology-based role. They also speak about how working in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial culture can create excitement in a role.
A senior executive with over 35 years’ experience in the IT industry, Peter is an engineer by trade who became a business owner in the early 90s. After 10 successful years growing the MSP from start up to £8m turnover, the business was acquired by Westcoast in 2002 and Peter became the Technical Director of the new entity. For the past 18 years, Peter has held a number of Senior Executive positions within the Westcoast Group including Group CIO, and CTO for XMA. During this time the group has grown from £250m turnover to £3b turnover in 2020. A veteran of over 10 major acquisitions, Peter has a proven track record in delivering transformation and business growth to organisations of all sizes.