Driven by Data: The Podcast
Orbition Group
Orbition Group is delighted to bring you this podcast series, which is designed for Data Enthusiasts, to hear from some of the most high-profile Data, Analytics and AI thought leaders from around the globe.
Each episode will detail the guests journey to the top while bringing unique insights, drawn from first-hand experience on the industry’s most trending topics.
This podcast was created as a way for our industry's most respected leadership figures from across the world to give back to the Data & Analytics community, by sharing; knowledge, experiences and ideas, to inspire, innovate and provide real-life use cases on the industries most pressing topics/challenges.
Each episode will detail the guests journey to the top while bringing unique insights, drawn from first-hand experience on the industry’s most trending topics.
This podcast was created as a way for our industry's most respected leadership figures from across the world to give back to the Data & Analytics community, by sharing; knowledge, experiences and ideas, to inspire, innovate and provide real-life use cases on the industries most pressing topics/challenges.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Sep 17, 2026 • 41min
Data Debrief: We get Political
AI safeguards, political power and the race to outpace China take center stage. Catherine Dowden-King and Kyle Winterbottom explore how boardroom pressure can turn “move fast” into “mop up later,” plus the questions businesses should ask AI vendors about values, incentives and sensitive data. They also unpack complexity, unclear CDO mandates and AI’s overlooked environmental cost.
Sep 15, 2026 • 58min
S7 | Ep 24 | Are you a Merchant of Self-Inflicted Complexity? David Castro-Gavino, Executive Director, Head of Data Deployment at AstraZeneca and Boyan Angelov, Principal Strategist at Exxeta
David Castro-Gavino, AstraZeneca’s Head of Data Deployment, and Boyan Angelov, strategist and co-author of Enabling Data, explore why data teams keep repeating the same debates under new labels. They unpack self-inflicted complexity, misleading maturity scores, consultants who multiply friction, fragile data leadership, and why AI amplifies weak foundations. A sharp look at simplifying systems, understanding the business, and escaping “data Groundhog Day.”
Sep 10, 2026 • 49min
Data Debrief: Schools Back, AI Attack & the future of paid employment
September brings school returns, budget chaos and a fresh wave of AI debate. The discussion tackles doomsday headlines, rising anti-AI sentiment, and what public reactions reveal about workplace adoption. It explores the gap between button-clicking and genuine AI education, leadership accountability, confusing AI terminology, shrinking graduate pipelines, and the human-in-the-loop creator economy.
Sep 8, 2026 • 50min
S7 | Ep 23 | Redesigning Organisations for AI-Driven Competitive Advantage with Greg Freeman, CEO & Founder, Data & AI Literacy Academy
Greg Freeman, CEO and founder of the Data & AI Literacy Academy, returns to explore what real AI readiness demands. They unpack why tool training is not literacy, how data quality, governance and critical thinking matter, and why leaders must challenge AI-generated “slop.” The conversation also examines process redesign, executive ownership and focusing on a handful of transformative workflows instead of launching endless pilots.
Sep 3, 2026 • 40min
Data Debrief: Creepy AI Teddy, Running App Renters & The beginning of the Real AI Use cases
A ChatGPT-powered teddy bear sparks a lively debate about childhood learning, privacy, and the risks of always-listening toys. The conversation moves from AI’s role in education to using Strava and housing data to spot emerging neighborhoods. It also explores psychological safety, production-ready AI, customer-facing value, operating models, human versus machine errors, and renewed investment in data governance.
Sep 1, 2026 • 52min
S7 | Ep 22 | Getting AI out the Sandbox and into Production with Chris Pearce, Chief Data & AI Officer, Ageas
Chris Pearce, Chief Data and AI Officer at Ageas, leads a 250-person data and AI function. He explores why AI so often stalls in proof-of-concept, the cross-functional teams needed for production, and how LLMs are transforming contact-centre handovers and after-call work. They also discuss measuring commercial impact, prioritising practical use cases, managing board-level risk, and building an AI-ready workforce.
Aug 27, 2026 • 37min
Data Debrief: Blame AI! Averages Lie! and Kyle's throat sounds like he's going to... Cough.
A sharp look at a 45% collapse in advertised graduate data roles and why the entry-level pipeline is suddenly brittle. A debate about whether AI is a scapegoat for business decisions or a real disruptor of junior admin work. A push for early succession planning, skills matrices and clear career paths as technical tasks migrate to agents. A focus on strain at the senior end and changing data role shapes.
Aug 25, 2026 • 1h 2min
S7 | Ep 21 | What being Advisor to a FTSE 100 UK CEO for 10 yrs Taught me about Data Insights with Michael Ross, Data Agitator & NED
Michael Ross, data advisor, 'data agitator' and NED with a history of founding and selling analytics and e-commerce firms. He explains why averages hide where money is won or lost. He recounts a stock-availability epiphany, shows how siloed teams create a coordination tax, advocates de-averaging metrics like LTV:CAC, and promotes driver trees and failure metrics to force commercial action.
Aug 20, 2026 • 46min
Data Debrief: Rustout, Remote Work & Replacing Kyle
Davin Crowley-Sweet, CDO at National Highways and OBE, leads large teams and champions skills-based hiring and mentorship. He explores rustout versus burnout. He laments lost serendipity from remote work. He highlights luck, psychological safety over technical mastery, thoughtful language for neurodiversity, and the shift from building systems to building people.
Aug 18, 2026 • 59min
S7 | Ep 20 | Your Data & AI Investment Portfolio: How to Decide What Gets Funded with Nick Zervoudis, Founder at Value from Data & AI
Nick Zervoudis, founder of Value from Data & AI who helps data leaders turn projects into measurable ROI. He explains why value failures start upstream and outlines a five-point diagnostic. Short takes cover forecasting back-of-envelope ROI, prioritising portfolios by return and payback, separating problem from solution, and ensuring business ownership to realise any built value.
