Industry Inner Join

In this episode, Doug sits down with Greg Potter, Data Solution Architecture Manager at Capricorn, to make the case for one of the most underrated disciplines in data and explain why it might be the missing piece in getting AI to actually work.

With a career that started in full stack development in South Africa, climbed through IT management and executive roles, took a side quest through data assurance at PwC and landed in data architecture in Perth, Greg brings a builder's perspective on the place he likes to play most: the interface between business and technology. He even learnt dimensional modelling from Ralph Kimball himself at one of his last courses in South Africa.

Doug and Greg cover the questions that matter most right now:

- Why learning "the language of the business" through an enterprise data model gives AI a head start on natural language queries;

- How a lone analyst pulling straight from source can start modelling with just two ideas: context and grain;

- Third normal form, dimensional modelling or Data Vault? Plus why Greg advocates for a hybrid vault;

- Why you should never cleanse data in the pipeline and how critical data elements tie your model back to governance;

- and how AI cut Greg's source-to-target mapping work to a quarter of the time, as long as you read its thinking and drag it back out of the rabbit hole.

They also go deep on the bigger picture; whether natural language queries will ever replace the humble dashboard, why your own curiosity should be the one asking "so what?", what landing in Perth as a generalist taught Greg about a market that loves specialists, the AI return on investment reckoning he sees coming around 2028 and his advice for grads on building the problem solving muscle that no AI can build for you.

Whether you're an analyst wrangling one big table, an engineer weighing up Data Vault or a data leader trying to get your foundations AI-ready, this one's a masterclass in getting the basics right!

Want to learn more about Industry Inner Join?

Industry Inner Join is a community initiative that brings together Perth data and AI professionals to connect and share industry insights.

Our aim is to uplift data and tech literacy across Perth and Australia. We host quarterly in-person and online events, bringing together analysts, engineers and data leaders from across industries to share knowledge and build community.

Powered by DR Analytics Recruitment - helping businesses hire top data talent.

Building people | Building community | Building businesses

In this episode, Douglas sits down with Marina Murphy, Analytics Delivery Manager at Murdoch University, to explore what happens when someone who swore off uni straight out of school ends up with an MBA, a Master of Predictive Analytics and two teams at a university leading the charge on data and AI.

With a career spanning 30 years in IT, from becoming the accidental troubleshooter when a manufacturer installed its first computer system to implementing software across Australia and New Zealand, running a support department in finance and even running her own business, Marina brings a grounded, people-first perspective on what it actually takes to make data and AI stick inside a large organisation.

Doug and Marina cover the questions that matter most right now:

- Why AI treats your data like a new starter treats your processes, and what happens when the out-of-date document is the one it finds;

- About a sceptical team from "it'll take our jobs" to loving an AI agent that helps respond to 180,000 student inquiries a year;

- Whether dashboards are really dead or just due for a gold layer glow-up;

- How a data and analytics strategy became Marina's secret weapon for getting governance off the SharePoint shelf;

- and why coffee shop placement might be the best argument for bringing campus data together.

They also go deep on the bigger picture; what AI means for grads and entry-level roles, why curiosity and communication will outlast any tech stack, how having kids made her a more compassionate leader and why you'll never be the smartest person in the room (and shouldn't try to be). Plus a sneak peek at Murphy's of Nannup, the antique shop getting an AI-powered inventory system ;)

Whether you're a junior analyst wondering which skills will future-proof your career, a data leader trying to sell the G word to the business or someone stepping into their first people leadership role, this one's packed with practical insight.

Want to learn more about Industry Inner Join?

Industry Inner Join is a community initiative that brings together Perth data and AI professionals to connect and share industry insights.

Our aim is to uplift data literacy across Perth and Australia. We host quarterly in-person and online events, bringing together analysts, engineers and data leaders from across industries to share knowledge and build community.

Powered by DR Analytics Recruitment - helping businesses hire top data talent.

Building people | Building community | Building businesses

In this episode, Doug sits down with Darryl Wells, a Perth leader in building data platforms, digital products and enterprise architecture at BHP, to unpack what it actually takes to run data and AI at enterprise scale, and why the human side of the job matters just as much as the technical side.

With a career spanning software engineering, consulting and leadership roles before moving into enterprise architecture and eventually building out BHP's data engineering and enablement capability from the ground up, Darryl brings a rare view across the full stack, from strategy down to the nuts and bolts.

Doug and Darryl cover the questions that matter most right now:- What actually separates solution architecture, enterprise architecture and data architecture from each other;- Why AI engineers have evolved out of the traditional data scientist role and what that shift really looks like day to day;- How BHP is navigating the line between probabilistic AI solutions and problems that genuinely need to stay deterministic;- Why explainability was the biggest unlock from his Master's in AI, and how it directly improved his model results;- and what Australian Privacy Principle 6 means for agentic AI systems making their own calls on how to use personal data.

They also go deep on the bigger picture; the T-shaped skills debate between generalists and specialists, why soft skills are becoming just as critical as technical depth, how to keep your hands on the tools as you move into leadership, and whether AI is heading for a boom or a bust in the years ahead.

Whether you're an aspiring data leader, someone weighing up specialising versus generalising or a data professional trying to figure out where privacy law needs to catch up to AI, this one's got plenty of takes!

Want to learn more about Industry Inner Join?

Industry Inner Join is a community initiative that brings together Perth data and AI professionals to connect and share industry insights.

Our aim is to uplift data literacy across Perth and Australia. We host quarterly in-person and online events, bringing together analysts, engineers and data leaders from across industries to share knowledge and build community.

Powered by DR Analytics Recruitment - helping businesses hire top data talent.

Building people | Building community | Building businesses

In this solo episode, Doug steps away from the interview chair to give you the full picture of Perth's data and AI job market. He breaks down the core roles, real salary ranges, the sectors hiring right now and the three ways people actually land jobs here. He also shares his honest take on how AI is reshaping careers in data, what's in your control and what isn't, and how to position yourself for a promotion.

No guest this time, just the unfiltered view from someone who talks to hiring managers and candidates every day!

Want to learn more about Industry Inner Join?

Industry Inner Join is a community initiative that brings together Perth data and AI professionals to connect and share industry insights.

Our aim is to uplift data literacy across Perth. We host quarterly in-person and online events, bringing together analysts, engineers and data leaders from across industries to share knowledge and build community.

Powered by DR Analytics Recruitment

Building people | Building community | Building businesses

In this episode, Doug sits down with Tim Sondalini, Head of Data & Analytics at Perth Airport, to explore what happens when a law graduate with a civic heart finds his calling at the intersection of technology and problem-solving and never really stops building things on the side.

With a career spanning management consulting at Deloitte, data team builds at Water Corporation and Hesperia, and now Perth Airport, Tim brings a refreshingly squiggly perspective on what it actually takes to lead in the data space without ever having been a programmer.

Doug and Tim cover the questions that matter most right now:

• Why translation skills beat technical depth when building and hiring data teams;

• How the $1 Sprint compresses an entire innovation cycle into 90 minutes;

• What the printing press can teach us about surviving the AI revolution;

• and why information governance is the most underrated career move a senior analyst can make.

They also go deep on the bigger picture; whether AI is a net good, how open source models are quietly becoming the scariest thing in the room, why the demo beats the memo every single time and the advice Tim gives to anyone trying to carve out a career in data without a traditional path.

Whether you're a data professional gunning for your first leadership role, a builder obsessed with getting to market fast or someone figuring out how to stay relevant in a world that changed again last weekend, this one's got plenty of takes!

Want to learn more about Industry Inner Join?

Industry Inner Join is a community initiative that brings together Perth data and AI professionals to connect and share industry insights.

Our aim is to uplift data literacy across Perth and Australia. We host quarterly in-person and online events, bringing together analysts, engineers and data leaders from across industries to share knowledge and build community.

Powered by DR Analytics Recruitment.

Building people | Building community | Building businesses

In this episode, Doug sits down with Kevin Brown, CEO of Icetana AI. An ASX-listed self-learning surveillance software company built right here in Perth, to explore what happens when you put serious AI behind thousands of cameras, and what that means for safety, privacy and the future of security operations.

With a career spanning IT leadership, product and operations across VGW and beyond, Kevin brings refreshingly unfiltered take on building AI-powered technology, scaling a global business from Perth and navigating the ethical edge of surveillance tech.

Doug and Kevin cover the questions that matter most right now: how Icetana's anomaly detection is already preventing slip-and-fall claims worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, why the Bondi attack exposed a systemic gap in how we monitor public spaces, what an AI operating system actually looks like inside a leadership team and why Kevin runs an uncensored LLM at home just to get an unfiltered answer.

They also go deep on the bigger picture; AI alignment risks, longevity escape velocity, whether AI will create more jobs than it destroys and the advice Kevin gives his own sons about building a career in a world that's changing faster than any of us can track.

Whether you're a data or AI professional, a founder navigating scale or someone just trying to figure out where to place your bets, this one's got plenty takes!

Want to learn more about Industry Inner Join?

Industry Inner Join is a community initiative that brings together Perth data and AI professionals to connect and share industry insights.

Our aim is to uplift data literacy across Perth and Australia. We host quarterly in-person and online events, bringing together analysts, engineers and data leaders from across industries to share knowledge and build community.

Powered by DR Analytics Recruitment; helping businesses hire top data talent.

Building people | Building community | Building businesses

In this episode, Doug sits down with Jess Kuan, Head of Data and AI at P&N Bank, to unpack what it really takes to build a career at the intersection of data, technology and business.

With nearly 20 years in financial services, spanning complaints, collections, frontline sales, back-office processing, and product management before landing in data and AI - Jess brings a rare perspective shaped by time spent actually doing the work.

They cover the career questions that matter most right now: why domain knowledge is still a competitive edge in a world of AI-generated code, what Jess actually screens for when hiring (spoiler: it's not your SQL skills) and how P&N Bank has rolled out tools like Snowflake Intelligence to put self-serve analytics in the hands of business users.

Whether you're a junior analyst trying to break in, a hiring manager rethinking your process, or a data leader navigating AI adoption, this one's packed with practical insight.

Want to learn more about Industry Inner Join?

Industry Inner Join is a community initiative that brings together Perth data professionals to connect and share industry insights.

Our aim is to uplift data literacy across Perth and Australia.

We host quarterly in-person and online events, bringing together analysts, engineers, and data leaders from across industries to share knowledge and build community.

Powered by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠DR Analytics Recruitment⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - helping businesses hire top data talent.

Building people | Building community | Building businesses

Join Douglas Robertson, Director at DR Analytics Recruitment, as he sits down with Milan Raicevic - CIO at RMT Technologies - former astrophysicist turned data leader.

Milan’s journey spans continents and disciplines: from studying computational cosmology in the UK and Europe, to early data science roles in the US and now leading technical teams and products in Australia. In this conversation, he shares how that background shaped his view of data, why problem-solving beats tool selection every time, and how AI is reshaping (but not replacing) modern data roles.

In this episode, we cover:

• Moving from academia into industry data roles
• Why 'solve real problems' is still the best career advice
• How AI tools are changing coding, analysis and workflows

• What hiring managers look for in a fast-moving tech landscape
• Building products and teams in a startup-style environment

Milan also shares practical advice for data professionals: follow problems you care about, build real understanding of the domain, and use AI as a tool and not a crutch.

If you work in data, analytics, engineering or AI, or you’re trying to build a durable, future-proof career in this space, this episode offers a clear, no-hype perspective on where things are heading next.

Want to learn more about Industry Inner Join?

Industry Inner Join is a community initiative that brings together Perth data professionals to connect and share industry insights.

Our aim is to uplift data literacy across Perth and Australia.

We host quarterly in-person and online events, bringing together analysts, engineers, and data leaders from across industries to share knowledge and build community.

Powered by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠DR Analytics Recruitment⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - helping businesses hire top data talent.

Building people | Building community | Building businesses

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn more about us and our events here.⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on LinkedIn.⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Be sure to leave us a rating and subscribe!

If you’re building a career in data, or thinking about making the move into consulting, this episode is for you.

Join Douglas Robertson, Director at DR Analytics Recruitment, as he sits down with Gerard McCarthy - former Head of Data & Analytics at Pioneer Credit and now Principal Consultant at Bailey Abbott.

Gerard’s journey spans 20 years: from accountant at EY, Bankwest and iiNet, to leading a 20-person data team inside an ASX-listed financial services company, and now helping grow a fast-scaling consultancy in WA. In this conversation, he shares what it actually takes to bridge finance, data and executive decision-making, and why leadership in analytics is more about trust and empathy than technical brilliance.

In this episode, we cover:

• Moving from accounting into data

• Leading a high-performing team of engineers, analysts and data scientists

• The shift from internal leadership to client-facing consulting

• What hiring managers really look for (beyond the CV)

• Consulting vs in-house data roles, and who suits each path

Gerard also shares practical advice for aspiring data professionals: take broad opportunities, learn the business you serve and don’t underestimate the value of empathy in technical roles.

If you work in data, analytics, BI, engineering, AI, or you’re considering a move into consulting, this episode offers a grounded perspective on how careers in this space actually unfold and where the industry is heading next.

Want to learn more about Industry Inner Join?

Industry Inner Join is a community initiative that brings together Perth data professionals to connect and share industry insights.

Our aim is to uplift data literacy across Perth and Australia.

We host quarterly in-person and online events, bringing together analysts, engineers, and data leaders from across industries to share knowledge and build community.

Powered by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠DR Analytics Recruitment⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - helping businesses hire top data talent.

Building people | Building community | Building businesses

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn more about us and our events here.⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on LinkedIn.⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Be sure to leave us a rating and subscribe!

If you’re navigating the space between business and data, exploring AI at work, or trying to understand how analytics actually delivers value, this episode is for you.

Join Douglas Robertson, Director at DR Analytics Recruitment, as he sits down with Andy Maher, Manager of Digital and Data at IGO.

Andy’s career spans law, retail, entrepreneurship, field IT work and analytics leadership, giving him a rare perspective on why so many data initiatives stall, and what it really takes to bridge the gap between business problems and technical solutions.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why business/data tension exists (and how to reduce it)

• What 'value' actually means in analytics, AI and data teams

• AI productivity gains vs real ROI on the P&L

• Adoption, semantic layers and the future beyond dashboards

• What hiring managers really look for in data and analytics roles

• How early-career analysts can build 'intangible' skills that accelerate growth

• Mentorship, community and why curiosity beats tools every time

If you work in data, analytics, AI, BI, engineering, or you’re a business leader trying to get more from your data investments, this conversation will give you a grounded, real-world lens on where the industry is heading!

Want to learn more about Industry Inner Join?

Industry Inner Join is a community initiative that brings together Perth data professionals to connect and share industry insights.

Our aim is to uplift data literacy across Perth and Australia.

We host quarterly in-person and online events, bringing together analysts, engineers, and data leaders from across industries to share knowledge and build community.

Powered by ⁠⁠⁠⁠DR Analytics Recruitment⁠⁠⁠⁠ - helping businesses hire top data talent.

Building people | Building community | Building businesses

⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn more about us and our events here.⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on LinkedIn.⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Be sure to leave us a rating and subscribe!