Venturi's Voice: Technology | Leadership | Staffing | Career | Innovation

In this episode Andy Davis talks to Michael Michelis, the Co-founder at Intelistyle Ltd. On the show they discuss the links between Data Science and mathematics. Andy asks Michael about the effects Data is having on a companies structure and culture. They also discuss Data and its role in retail and the challenges of building your own startup. Michael is a Data engineer and mathematician with extensive experience leveraging technology to solve Big Data problems. He is experienced in managing and growing communities, founded one of the largest online communities for mathematics in Greece. Michael was also the winner of the LSE Business Week pitch competition and finalist in a number of other pitching events. He has also launched a few indie apps in App Store and Google Play. Show Notes: 0.59 The implementation of Data teams in a company. 3.06 What are the large challenges for you and your company? 4.49 Building a Data team with people from a variety of backgrounds. 6.33 Data’s far reaching effects on society. 8.17 The evolution of a CDO. 9.39 Being in Data for so long but still seeing it constantly evolve. 11.03 Data science and retail. 12.55 Michaels background. 14.01 Does mathematics and Data Engineering go hand in hand? 16.06 What have been the most challenging aspects of building your business? 18.31 Falling in love with your problems not solutions. 19.41 Aligning your roles at work with what you want to achieve in life. 21.32 What are your predictions for the 2018 Big Data trends.

In this episode Andy Davis talks to Rafael Rocha, the Chief Transformation Architect at Edanlit Techlab & Consultancy. On the show they discuss the composition of an A.I team. Andy asks Rafael about how company culture intertwines with artificial intelligence. They also discuss the direction A.I is heading and they chat about how to get staff on side when trying to instigate an A.I cultural change. Rafael has 30 years experience in leading transformation roles on projects up to £83M. He currently working at Edenlit Techlab and Consultancy working on Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Blockchain, with leading business professionals and technologists. He has extensive experience and specialisms in Customer Experience/CRM, BPR, Target Operating Models, Intranet, e-Commerce and ERP. Show Notes: 1.09 How does an A.I team look? 4.46 A.I professionals fulfilling a hybrid role. 7.54 Instigating a cultural shift in a business when on-boarding a data/ A.I team. 12.11 The positives of having a company culture which embraces and enjoys change. 15.42 How do you get staff on-board with a cultural change in your business before you’ve proved the concept. 18.32 Where do you see A.I heading in the coming years?

In this episode Andy Davis talks to Marcel Kornblum, head of creative technology at BBH London. They discuss the importance of taking a macro perspective in business, navigating company culture and working freelance and for agencies. For the last 4 years Marcel has been the senior technical resource at two of London's most renowned creative agencies. He has freelanced as a hands on developer and twice been a startup founder. Prior to this he has helped grow a company from 4 to 50 employees and won over 40 advertising awards, working in London and New York as a tech lead. Marcel has worked client side, agency- and production- side, for dev shops and startups. Show Notes: 1.08 What do you think are the biggest changes that have happened in the technology world since you started your career. 4.33 The mentality of thinking from a macro and business standpoint when working in tech. 6.39 Do you think that the outcomes and goals of tech departments haven’t changed. 7.38 Do the projects you’re working on have to be fun for you to be engaged by them? 10.04 Talking about company culture. 13.02 Factors that can affect innovation in the technology sphere. 14.47 Talking about scale. 16.11 Bringing people on board who can get on with the job. 17.51 Dealing with workplace ego’s. 18.42 Technology culture can’t be controlled or contained. 20.23 Trying products for free and free plans in technology. 22.31 Getting a lot more scope working with an agency and in freelance work. 26.53 What technologies are you most looking forward to seeing in the near future.

In this episode Andy Davis talks to Ian Mortimer, a lead DevOps Engineer at Slalom Consultancy . On the show Ian tells Andy about working in a Kubernetes environment. They also discuss DevOps as an approach to work. Andy also asks Ian about innovation and how he continually tries to innovate at work. Ian is a lead DevOps Engineer with a focus on platform automation and high availability implementation. He is skilled in Go, Web Applications, AWS, Rancher, Kubernetes, and Agile Methodologies. Ian is a strong engineering professional with a Bachelor focused in Communications from Boston University. Show Notes: 1.09 Working in a Kubernetes environment. 7.11 How do you decide what technologies to invest in? 11.14 DevOps as an approach and attitude to work. 13.30 How do you perceive innovation. 16.56 The simple things people overlook when trying to innovate. 21.06 Ian background and career progression. 23.54 How will DeOps evolve over the coming year? 27.17 The sharing economy brought about with the advent of technology.

In this episode Andy Davis talks to Ben Sanders, the COO at Pockit. He chats to Andy about his role and responsibilities as a COO, why it’s important, when on-boarding, to hire people who share your company’s vision and the new skills you need to learn as a manager. They also touch on the exciting advancements happening in the technology sphere and Ben's personal motivations for working in technology. Ben is passionate about private-sector solutions for urban issues. He’s a senior executive at Pockit a fast-growing FinTech 50 tech startup aiming to become the world's most inclusive bank. Show Notes: 1.29 How does your approach to workplaces change due to their size. 4.13 Managing a team is a whole new skill set. 7.05 What’s your take on the role of COO and is it true that it’s a very diverse role. 10.28 Was the excitement around the space you're company is working in a big motivator for you. 12.42 When you’re bringing new people onto your team is it important that they have a belief in your company's vision. 15.03 In startups it’s a necessity that new employees are on-board with the company’s culture. 18.47 How aware do you have to be from a technical perspective when looking at macro external factors that can affect your business. 20.59 Do you have a consistency approach to work or does your approach change form role to role. 24.33 What things are you excited to see in the coming years in the technology sphere and in your work life.

In this episode Andy Davis talks to Charlotte Morris, the CMO for SkinNinja. SkinNinja a break through UK app, which identifies what's in our skincare products, from contact allergens to carcinogens. Using its proprietary technology to identify risks from over 800k products and using its tech to then provide healthier, safer alternatives. On the show Charlotte explains how marketing is a revenue generator for business and how marketing professionals need to be multi-disciplined to truly succeed in their careers. They also discuss how Charlotte got into mentoring and why she feels compelled to help others who are starting their careers. Show Notes: 1.12 Marketing and tech as revenue generators. 7.04 Having to be multi-disciplined in tech now. 13.45 Having to continually learn and adapt in tech and marketing. 16.42 What are you working on at the moment that you feel really passionate about. 19.41 Thinking through all your options when starting a career and finding a mentor. 22.47 Charlotte’s move back to London and working on her new startup. 26.39 The importance of external networking. 31.10 Going out into the tech community and asking for help.

In this episode Andy Davis talks to Killian Faughnan, the CISO at Interoute. They discuss the makeup of a typical security team. Killian tells Andy about how he stays ahead of security threats. Andy asks Killian about his responsibilities and why he chose to do an MBA. Killian is an information and cyber security professional with a background in technical security (engineering, architecture, pentesting), security governance (risk management, compliance), and business administration. Show Notes 1.08 Killian’s background in security and why are we paying so much attention to security now? 2.30 Did you always think you’d end up in the security sector? 3.58 Does the wealth of backgrounds present in the security sector make it an interesting place to work at the moment? 6.12 What does your typical security team look like? 7.58 What are your responsibilities? 10.38 Killians thought process behind doing an MBA. 12.12 How tech makes you constantly pursue learning. 14.31 What is it about the security consultancy market which is making the average contract length so short. 16.14 Are in house security staff the best option to keep your business safe? 18.03 How were your mentors and influences and what are you doing in your leadership position to reduce your turnover of staff? 21.56 Not just looking to your superiors for feedback and inspiration. 23.10 How do you stay ahead of the security threats. 25.12 External collaboration. 26.10 Being proactive in your role when looking at problems from a macro perspective. 27.39 What direction is the security sector heading in over the next few years?

In this Episode, Andy Davis talks to Jon Peterson, Development Manager at Argus Media. They chat about why team leaders need to reinforce to their staff the importance of building software that solves problems. They also touch on internal communication issues in business and how to best explain your technical goals to non-technical people. Jon is an experienced technologist and leader, focussing on product development, development team building, and adjusting corporate culture to fit with new digital trends. His vast career experience covers UX, Knowledge discovery, workflow integration & access control and identity management. Show Notes: 1.17 What were the first technologies you learned and how difficult is it to learn new technologies once you’ve learned the basics. 4.50 What strategies did you employ when trying to learn some new tech. 6.44 Confusing company culture and personal development. 10.26 Do you find other departments can influence culture and that can be counter productive for the tech teams. 12.19 Technical teams being expected to change their way of thinking to be aware of business cultures and outcomes. 14.24 Who is responsible for ensuring other departments have a good knowledge of what tech teams are doing. 15.48 Do you feel that now people who are working in tech are failing to understand some of the processes that are going on behind the scenes. 18.08 Ultimately building software that solves problems. 19.24 Internal communication issues within teams equating to software being made that isn’t getting released. 21.26 Making the transition into a management position. 23.59 The fulfilment you gain out of management. 26.45 Is there any technology coming in the near future that you think will impact your team or company in general.

In this episode Andy Davis talks to Jonathan Leedham, B.I manager at Reed.co.uk. On today's podcast he chats to Andy about the differences and widening gap between Business Intelligence and Big Data and how this diverging fields are sculpting the skillsets required for entry level employees. They also discuss whether the business outcomes of a company are ever affected by technological advances and look at the pro’s and con’s of taking a purely data driven approach to your business problems. Jonathon’s varied career has taken him from working with I.T outsourcing companies right through to public sector work with the NHS. Underpinning all his efforts has been the desire to fit the most appropriate technological solution to a business’s problems and, where necessary, throwing in the B.I Life ring to rescue employee’s drowning in Data. Show Notes: 1.12 Differentiating B.I and Big Data. 3.32 How did you decide what was the best fit for you out of B.I and Big data. 4.33 Is A.I and automation affecting the skills people in your discipline need to learn to be successful in their career. 5.41 Have the rapid advancements in data produced a fundamental shift in the way data scientists and Business Intelligence operate. 7.47 Have you enjoyed the shift in data and B.I. 8.43 How technology has changed from a person needing a niche skill set to a broad range of agile and adaptable skills. 10.14 Do the required outcomes from a business perspective ever change? 11.53 Have you ever been surprised about some of the things you’ve uncovered working in data. 13.10 Outside of Reed.co.uk what is your background. 14.52 Data science becoming integral to the products you’re producing. 15.43 Taking a data driven approach to how we work. 17.05 How closely do we consider data, especially when factoring in the human element of business. 18.21 How do you communicate your data findings with high level people. 19.48 Although we’re looking at data we’re still reliant on the human element of how we’re going to approach data. 21.00 What are your thought on Google taking on the jobs market? 21.48 Moving forward what are your career goals? 23.46 What technology are you most interested to see come out in the next few years?

In this episode, Andy Davis talks to Phil Wood, a people partner at Swoon Editions. They discuss personal development, internships and retraining staff. They also chat about the importance of having a social element to your business and the best practices for on-boarding. Before working for Swoon Editions Phil worked for MVF, one of the fastest growing marketing technology companies in the UK. He has also spent time as the Head of Talent for Transport for London and a Resourcing and Organisational change manager for the Olympic delivery authority. He graduated from Essex university with a Bsc (Hons), in Sports and exercise science. Show Notes: 1.06 What areas of HR do you feel can be disrupted and what areas are changing. 3.37 What were your experiences like when you were being trained for your career and how’s that different from the realities of your role. 5.50 Personal development, internships and being a responsible employer when coming to on-boarding. 9.00 The difficulty when retaining staff in the current market. 10.29 Encouraging big corporations to give back to communities by building fairer apprenticeships. 12.20 Looking at retention in technology and how has HR had to change their strategy to motivate people to stay in a company. 14.48 The way that people approach business and work and incorporating a social aspect to your work. 17.57 How do HR teams conduct themselves internally. 19.13 What are some characteristic that have served you well in a career in HR. 20.24 Were you influenced by people or did you pick up your skills through work alone. 23.33 Why you should always be seeking external feedback. 24.52 What technologies are you most excited about that are on the verge of coming into fruition. 26.20 Applying data to roles in HR.