Our guest today is a true Australian icon and a fascinating mind! From a modest $24 investment in a lawn mowing business while pursuing his PhD in history, he built an empire. Jim Penman is the founder of Jim's Group, the largest franchising chain in the Southern Hemisphere, with over 40 divisions and thousands of franchisees globally. But beyond the business success, he's also an author and a pioneer in the field of Biohistory, funding cutting-edge research into epigenetics and its impact on human behaviour and society.

#Business, #Investing, #Technology, #Curiosity, #Entrepreneurship, #STEM, #Science, #Engineering, #Mathematics, #Innovation, #Epigenetics, #Biohistory

Mitchell Scott is the Principal Data Scientist at Consilio, where he works in the Rapid Prototyping Team developing specialised Large Language Models for legal problem-solving. A unique blend of solicitor and published data scientist, Mitch helps create cutting-edge AI tools. His algorithm for identifying gendered language in legal drafting was shortlisted for the 2022 Financial Times Innovative Lawyers award.

In this episode we discuss the future of AI and real applications for it. We dive into how Chinese open source models have changed the landscape and where the value capture is happening.

We were joined by Dennis Barnes, CEO of Snowy Hydro, a leader in Australia’s energy transition. With decades of experience in the sector, he’s steered major companies through transformation, decarbonisation, and infrastructure growth. We talked about his career, how he sees the future of energy, and what’s next for Snowy Hydro.

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Dennis Barnes is the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Snowy Hydro Limited

Prior to joining Snowy Hydro, Barnes served as CEO of Contact Energy in New Zealand, where he led an investment program in renewable generation and enterprise-wide systems. He also held senior executive roles at Origin Energy.

His appointment at Snowy Hydro comes at a pivotal time as the company undertakes significant projects like Snowy 2.0, aimed at bolstering Australia's renewable energy infrastructure.

We talk about all things productivity and the many methods we have personally tried and benefited from! Join for a fun episode and get some tips for your next project!

#Business, #Investing, #Technology, #Curiosity, #Entrepreneurship, #STEM, #Science, #Engineering, #Mathematics, #Innovation

Tariffs have become very important in today’s geopolitical and economic landscape however they are not new. Tariffs were an economic tool used in the ancient world and have evolved through history to be used today. All tools have use cases but not all tools are suited to all use cases. In this episode we look at a history of  tariffs, when they have been used in the past from ancient and industrial times and how they impacted the economy of that time.

In this episode, we dive into the inspiring story of Octopus Energy – the UK’s fastest-growing energy supplier and a leader in the global decarbonization movement. From disrupting a stagnating market to building the innovative Kraken platform, Octopus has transformed the energy sector with its tech-driven, customer-first approach. Discover how they scaled from zero to 7.3 million customers, dominated the UK market, and expanded internationally. Join us for an inside look at the company's founding, its breakthrough technology, and the culture that’s fueling its rapid rise. It’s a study into innovation, growth, and sustainability!

#Business, #Investing, #Technology, #Curiosity, #Entrepreneurship, #STEM, #Science, #Engineering, #Mathematics, #Innovation, #Energy

In this episode we interview Ian—a retired investment professional with extensive experience in capital markets research, asset allocation, risk management, and investment analytics. An Economics (Hons) graduate from Sydney University who also qualified as an actuary, Ian has held key roles at major super annuation institutions and investment committees. 

Though retired, Ian's seasoned expertise will help bridge the gap of institutional insights for everyday retail players. Today will get look behind the curtain at how large institutions view portfolio allocation.

Note: Nothing in this episode is financial advice and is strictly for educational purposes only.

This episode was recorded before some significant world economic updates. Please excuse any out of date information.

Our game changing habits!

We often asks our guests what's keeping them curious and what the keys are to their success, so we did some reflecting.

We discuss the key habits that serve us and keep us moving forward in this world!

#Business, #Investing, #Technology, #Curiosity, #Entrepreneurship, #STEM, #Science, #Engineering, #Mathematics, #Innovation

Major tech companies are redefining energy autonomy to meet their growing demands. Discover how Microsoft is pioneering advanced nuclear solutions, Google is achieving 24/7 carbon-free energy with renewables, and Amazon is deploying distributed energy networks at scale. Learn how these innovative strategies are shaping the future of sustainable energy and setting the stage for other industries to follow.

Janet Wiles is a Professor of Human Centred Computing at the University of Queensland and leads a UQ project on human centred AI. She has delivered talks for Google and TEDx and has 30 years’ experience in research and teaching in machine learning, artificial intelligence, bio-inspired computation, complex systems, visualisation, language technologies and social robotics.

We talk all things Human Centred AI in a very engaging and relevant episode!