The Irish Tech News Podcast

Our world has changed, and along with it, our workforce and their expectations. Employees are increasingly looking for purpose beyond a paycheck. "Make inclusiveness part of your culture" is a crucial cornerstone of successful companies; yet, driving a long-term D&I strategy is easier said than done.  In this episode of One Vision, Theo welcomes Vanice Hayes, Chief Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Dell Technologies, to discuss how businesses can break through and lead with empathy – from reskilling to more diversity to digital inclusion. Vanice also shares insights from Dell’s Breakthrough Study and the company’s latest efforts in advancing digital inclusion and education for underserved communities around the world.

Serial entrepreneurs are always reinventing themselves as they see new opportunities and take them. One such serial entrepreneur is Phil Teare and his latest venture is PureVolt, a company that provides solar panels installations for homeowners. So, how did Phil get into solar panels? Ronan talks to Phil about this and more. Phil talks about his background, what PureVolt does, the challenges of setting up a new business, working in a power crisis, government grants, how solar panels reduce your bills, solar farms and EV’s. Phil also talks about range anxiety, renewable energy, and digital nomads. More about Phil Teare: Despite his background in science and engineering, it was in business that Phil found his passion. He always believed that successful businesses are built onsustainability. As the science of climate change became clearer over recent years, he came to see that sustainability was just as important in other areas of his life. While switching to an electric car and solar PV electricity, he saw the appeal of a company which offers clear information in an open, honest and transparent way.

In 2010, Alessandro De Grandi, CEO and founder of The Nemesis, was playing Second Life, basically a rudimentary Web2 Metaverse, when he bought his first bitcoin, two of them actually. They cost less than a dollar each and he sold them for around $75 a few years later to his great satisfaction. However, it was the sensation of buying bitcoin in a metaverse that changed his thinking. “It was a beautiful sensation. Something changed in my mind when I realised that we could make the metaverse into something that everyone could enjoy. While Web3 had not been invented, I just understood the internet was going to merge with the metaverse.” De Grandi was not a hardcore game, preferring casual games, he instinctive understood that casual gaming would be the gateway drug to the metaverse. He also understood that people, and indeed brands, would need handholding to move from Web2 to Web3. He and his co founder Riccardo Zanini, together with The Nemesis’ CTO Andrea Bernasconi (who had several years of experience in 3D graphics and in the world of videogames) first began working on The Nemesis back in 2018. De Grandi stresses that over the past four years the team has not spent a penny on marketing but focussed all their time, money and energy on building the platform. To find out more, tune into the episode

Climate Alpha In this week’s episode of The Futurists, bestselling author of MOVE and futurist Parag Khanna joins us to talk about climate migration, geopolitics, real-estate and agriculture in a world impacted by climate change. Khanna is the founder of futuremap and climate alpha, and has worked with the US government, World Economic Forum and others on climate change adaptation strategies and policy. Welcome to the Futurists where your hosts Brett King and Robert Tercek interview the worlds foremost super-forecasters, thought leaders, technologists, entrepreneurs and futurists building the world of tomorrow. Together we will explore how our world will radically change as AI, bioscience, energy, food and agriculture, computing, the metaverse, the space industry, crypto, resource management, supply chain and climate will reshape our world over the next 100 years. Join us on The Futurists and we will see you in the future! Related Episodes Start at the Start with Robert Tercel & Brett King Universe of Dune with Kevin J Anderson Robot Avatars with Dr Harry Kloor Super Forecasting with Regina Joseph The Genesis Machine with Andrew Hessel Ethical Futures and the Noosphere with PJ Manney Dao Governance & the Future of the Firm with Wulf Kaal The Economics of the Future with Dr Richard Petty & Brett King The Future of Marketing with Rishad Tobaccowala Why Technology Always Wins with Brad Templeton Ranking Futurists with Ross Dawson

Description: The complexities of NetZero journeys are real and people need to be upskilled to be able to execute their strategic goals. In this episode, we discuss these topics with Helene Li, Top voice in Sustainability & Impact in the APAC region. We also touch on Greenwashing, Cop27, and the current macroeconomic environment. Helene Li (https://www.linkedin.com/in/helene-li-1555bb16/) is the CEO and co-founder of Go Impact Capital Partners (https://goimpact.today/home), and Co-Chair of Sustainability & ESG Action CouncilCo-Chair of the Association of Family Offices in Asia. She is a leading voice on Sustainable Finance, DigitalTransformation and Fintech, TEDx Speaker, Top Financial Services Influencer in APAC, (Refinitiv), Top 2 Sustainable Finance Influencer globally (Onalytica). Dr. Efi Pylarinou is the No.1 Global Woman Influencer in Finance & the Data conversation by Refinitiv, a Top Thought Leader by Onalytica, and a Top Digital Futurist, Linkedin and Twitter Voice, by Engatica. A seasoned Wall Street professional & a recognized technology thought leader on innovation topics. Founder of Efi Pylarinou Advisory servicing Big Tech, Financial Services and Fintech clients. She strongly believes in building bridges between the old and the new economy. She shares her passion of content creation with her 190,000+ followers on Linkedin and 18,000+ on Twitter.  Join her on the social platforms https://linktr.ee/Efiglobal

There are so many interesting paths that financial services and fintech have taken the past decade. How we serve customers across the landscape of products and services has seen a sea of change and the addition of digital experiences as the business model has changed. Yet, when we think about the ways that financial brands can go down the wrong path, the list of lessons is a long one indeed. To avoid some of these pitfalls, it is important to truly understand and appreciate your customer experiences, those journeys that shape the connectivity between brands and the customers and communities they serve. In this episode of One Vision, Bradley speaks with Steven Ramirez, CEO of Beyond the Arc, as he speaks about how his firm works with financial brands to better understand their data, their technologies, and their relationships with the people they serve.

Thriftify, is a sustainable E-Commerce company that acts as an online retailer for 98% of Ireland’s charity shops and plans to expand its workforce with 20 new hires planned across the tech, e-commerce and sales and marketing sides of the business. As well as their expansion plans, Thriftify has just received a huge financial boost having just signed a €1.6m investment deal. Ronan talks to Rónán Ó ’Dálaigh, Thriftify CEO about how Thriftify and more. Ronan talks about his background, what Thriftify does, the pandemic, the adoption of tech, sustainability, fashion, and planned obsolescence. ABOUT THRIFTIFY: In 2018, Thriftify was founded by Rónán Ó Dálaigh, Timur Negru and Rahil Nazir, as the only dedicated online marketplace connecting charity shops with consumers. By combining their passion for social impact business with their love of thrifting in charity shops, the company was born. Since then, Thriftify has grown substantially and is now working with over 98% of the charity retailers in Ireland and expanding rapidly with charity shops across the UK.

Description: Mini-programs and the ecosystem design of WeChat, are unique. We discuss these and other differentiations of the WeChat journey (which continues) with Kevin through several examples and juxtapositions to the Western apps and BigTech companies.  Are SuperApps going to make it in other parts of the world?  Kevin Shimota was the global head of marketing and partnerships at WeChat (2016-2019) and has just published a book on this topic.  The world envies the business model that was born in China and baptized SuperApp in the West. In this episode, we also touch upon Tencent`s strengths that WeChat continues to leverage.  Mentions: Ron Shevlin`s Forbes `SuperApps aren`t going to make it in the US` article https://www.forbes.com/sites/ronshevlin/2022/08/01/super-apps-arent-going-to-make-it-in-the-united-states/?sh=5c6fcf1b2e7d Kevin Shimota - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-shimota-48277022/v `The FirstSuperapp: Inside China's WeChat and the new digital revolution` by  - https://www.amazon.com/First-Superapp-Inside-digital-revolution/dp/9888769421/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+first+superapp&qid=1659435806&sr=8-1 Kevin Shimota is a leading specialist in digital products and platforms, having been a senior executive at WeChat (Tencent) with over a decade of experience in the industry. His ongoing work includes understanding innovations and trends coming out of Asia and how they will impact and adapt to the global community. Originally from Seattle, Kevin now lives in Sydney with his wife and dog. Dr. Efi Pylarinou is the No.1 Global Woman Influencer in Finance & the Data conversation by Refinitiv, a Top Thought Leader by Onalytica, and a Top Digital Futurist, Linkedin and Twitter Voice, by Engatica. A seasoned Wall Street professional & a recognized technology thought leader on innovation topics. Founder of Efi Pylarinou Advisory servicing Big Tech, Financial Services and Fintech clients. She strongly believes in building bridges between the old and the new economy. She shares her passion of content creation with her 190,000+ followers on Linkedin and 18,000+ on Twitter.  Join her on the social platforms https://linktr.ee/Efiglobal

In this episode Melanie Boylan spoke with Shafi Kadem about his most recent work on photovoltaic power stations and how to optimise energy storage using artificial intelligence.  He and his team found solutions that would be easily adapted to current stations without a reduction in levels or massive increased costs.  Listen in as Shafi talks through his findings. IERC The “Intelligent Grid (iG)” Research Group @ IERC aims to design, develop and demonstrate (3D) intelligent and innovative solutions for decarbonising the smart grid and energy networks. For more information on the current projects and activities, you can visit: https://www.ierc.ie/current-research/

Have you ever sat down and really drilled out how to make your business more inclusive?  In this podcast Melanie Boylan and Sinead Daly have a fast paced chat on inclusion/culture/employee experience/sustainability and impact in fast-growth tech companies.  These are very much the topics discussed in the recent book that she contributed to called The Key to Inclusion. This book isn't only to read but gives practical advice and guidance on how to implement as well and uses case studies and examples to help.  The whole mindset of inclusion has developed so much over the years and its time we become more of an activist in this field! Sinead Daly is a leader who’s passionate about helping fast-growth tech companies balance purpose, not just profit. As Director of Culture, Experience and Impact at Beamery, Sinead takes a leading role on areas that make a positive impact on people, communities and the planet.