The Irish Tech News Podcast

🎧 New Podcast Alert! Join us as we welcome Allison Swagert to One Vision Podcast! Dive into the world of AI, financial crime prevention, and hear Allison’s unique career journey from pure mathematics and computer science to tackling fraud and compliance challenges! We explore the critical role of AI in fraud detection, the importance of collaboration in combating financial crimes, and why we need human in the loop. Allison also shares her vision for using AI to address societal issues; her compassion for leveraging technology to create a better world gives us hope for the future. 🌟 ”Using AI and employing AI cannot and should not be a substitute for competence and knowledge and education. AI is a complement to your existing systems, not the foundation.”  #AI #FinTech #FinancialServices #Fraud #AML #BankingOnAI #Podcast 

During the recent Dublin Tech Summit, I recorded a series of podcasts with some pf the speakers. In this podcast I speak to Bart Becks, one of the Dublin Tech Summit speakers and a board member of the European Innovation Council.Bart talks about his background, his Dublin Tech Summit talks, risk investing, AI and more.More about Bart Becks:Bart Becks is a serial innovator and entrepreneur from Belgium, with a proven track record of igniting digital innovation, fuelling growth and launching new ventures. In recent years, Bart served as the Executive Chairman at EURACTIV, steering its transformation into a premier media network covering EU policy news across 13 countries. EURACTIV was recently acquired by a prominent European media group. Concurrently, Bart serves as the Executive Chairperson at E-Health Venture, where he oversees the development of an ecosystem integrating strategic business, research, and technology partnerships. Additionally, he is a co-founder of BeCentral, which, since its establishment in 2017, has evolved into one of Europe’s foremost Tech and Digital Skills campuses.During his nearly decade-long tenure as CEO of Belgacom Skynet (now Proximus), Bart played a pivotal role in propelling the company to become Belgium’s largest internet and digital media entity. Subsequently, he joined the European Media Group SBS Broadcasting, which underwent acquisition by the private equity groups KKR & Permira and merged with ProSiebenSat1 to form one of Europe’s largest media groups. Following a significant period in California, Bart extended his involvement in startups and scale-ups as a founder, advisor, or angel investor – essentially in the domains of SAAS, digital media and healthcare.

Excited to share our latest episode of the One Vision podcast, featuring Sherry Wu, CTO of the University of Michigan Credit Union! 🚀 Tune in as we explore career journeys and the unique challenges faced by credit unions. Sherry shares insights on technology adoption, AI implementation, legacy system transformation, and how collaboration can drive innovation. Tune in to learn how UMCU is navigating the evolving landscape of financial technology, and bringing members along the AI journey while maintaining a strong community focus.#AI #Fintech #CreditUnion #DigitalTransformation 

Four years ago I interviewed the serial entrepreneur Ollie Walsh, co founder and CEO of Pipit Global. Since then Pipit Global has grown and last month they were taken over by the American paytech company Qenta. I recently caught up with Ollie who is now the president of Qenta.Ollie talks about the journey Pipit Global went on since we last spoke, Covid, AI, Quanta’s takeover of Pipit Global and more.More about Ollie Walsh:Ollie was the CEO of Terraforma, the company behind Pipit Global, and is the president of Qenta. He has twenty years experience developing strategies for Start Ups and SMEs to target new markets and to grow. He specialises in building teams and implementing plans and making them work. Ollie holds a MBS at National University of Ireland, Galway. 

Join Theo and a panel of industry thought leaders including Julie Muhn, Tiffany Montez, Millicent Tracey, and Tammy Bangs, as we unpack the first half of 2025 and predict what's to come. From discussions on the evolving role of AI in financial services and the rise of stablecoins, to the impact of regulatory changes, we cover it all. Discover the trends, challenges, and promising advancements shaping the future of FinTech. Whether it's exploring the strategic shifts in banking, the application of AI agents, or the cautious optimism amid economic uncertainties, this episode is for you. Tune in now!   📍 banks would start betting big on branches as a growth engine and a financial hub.

Have you ever wondered what it takes to safely manage the crowds at Ireland’s largest events - or some of the most spectacular festivals worldwide? Safe Events Global is at the forefront of making it all possible. From the vibrant Dublin Pride Parade to MDLBEAST in Saudi Arabia, their expertise ensures that safety and creativity coexist seamlessly at some of the most complex events on the planet. To find out more about Safe Events Global, Ronan spoke to Mark Breen Co-Founder and  Strategic Director of Safe Events Global.Mark talks about his background, what Safe Events Global does, their pioneering technology, some of the events Safe Events Global works with and more.More about Mark Breen:Mark Breen is Strategic Director of Safe Events Global and his leadership has transformed the Dublin-founded company into a global leader in crowd and event safety.Since its inception in 2012, Safe Events Global has grown into a €5.1 million turnover business, providing critical safety expertise for events across Ireland and around the world.

In this episode of One Vision, I sat down with Joel Blake, OBE, founder and CEO of GFA Exchange. We delve into Joel's life journey, his various roles across professional services, tech and fintech space, not-for-profit organizations and communities nationwide in the UK, as well as his commitment to creating an inclusive ecosystem. Joel reflects on his personal experiences, from growing up in a working-class environment to being awarded an OBE for Services to Business Support & Enterprise. Whether you're an entrepreneur, a corporate leader, or simply someone searching for purpose, Joel's journey will resonate and inspire. This heartfelt and inspiring conversation is not to be missed.

Sogeti is part of the CapGemini Group in Ireland, and is a leading technology provider that works alongside businesses to leverage emerging trends and technologies to identify, develop and deliver cutting-edge solutions. Sogeti employs 230 people in Ireland and serves 40 clients in Ireland including AWS, Microsoft and OpenText. To find out more about Sogeti Ronan spoke to James Govan the CEO of Sogeti.James talks about his background, what Sogeti does, how he managed to scale up sogeti and more.More about James Govan:Born in Scotland, James has been CEO of Sogeti since 2013. In that time, James has helped to rebuild the organisational structure, growing headcount from 65 to ~200 in Ireland and from 0 to +400 near and offshore in Europe and India working on Irish projects.Outside of work, James is a keen cricketer, having represented Scotland at senior level for over 10 years, gaining 54 full caps. He has also represented Fife Schools, Midlands Schools and Scottish Students in rugby.

In this new episode of One Vision Podcast, Theo hosts a deep dive with Ed Maslaveckas, CEO and Co-Founder of Bud, exploring the fascinating 10-year journey of the FinTech startup. They discuss the inception and evolution of Bud, and the future of data intelligence and AI for financial services. Between the bigger incumbent banks and the smaller institutions, who has the upper hand in the quest to become AI-ready? What are the opportunities for middle market banks? Tune in for an engaging conversation full of twists, turns, and signals in the data haystack. #AI #fintech #financialservices #bankingonAI #podcast #onevision 

Two months ago Schneider Electric, recently named the World’s Most Sustainable Company, announced the appointment of Rhonda Doyle to Country President of Ireland.Based in Dublin, Rhonda will play a vital role in scaling growth for Schneider Electric Ireland and taking on the opportunities in Ireland’s energy transition. Ronan recently caught up with Rhonda.Rhonda talks about her background, what Schneider Electric does, her future plans for Schneider Electric in Ireland and more.More about Schneider Electric :Their mission is to be the trusted partner in Sustainability and Efficiency.They are a global industrial technology leader bringing world-leading expertise in electrification, automation and digitisation to smart industries, resilient infrastructure, future-proof data centres, intelligent buildings, and intuitive homes. Anchored by their deep domain expertise, Schneider Electric provides integrated end-to-end lifecycle AI enabled Industrial IoT solutions with connected products, automation, software and services, delivering digital twins to enable profitable growth for their customers.