It's been a banger of a year for Gentrack, joining the NZX50 and reaching a $1 billion market capitalisation.

In this episode, we talk to Gentrack's chief technology officer Mark Rees, who joined the company early this year after a decade at Xero.

Rees offers insight into how Gentrack's software is helping utility companies manage at a time of massive disruption for the energy generation market and explains how AI and hyper-personalisation could create an even more resilient and affordable energy system.

He also opens up about what it's like to be in the top tech exec role at a global tech company.

Plus, what's all this fuss about the Commerce Commission and open banking?

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Searching for information online has been more or less the same since Google dominated the industry more than two decades ago but now, new forms of artificial intelligence are poised to change everything.

Search expert Ryan McMillan from SEO advisory Atlas Digital joins us to share his insights on what those changes mean for online advertising, and how businesses can be prepared for those changes.

Plus, Auckland University of Technology associate professor of journalism Helen Sissons explains how social media created a world where kooky stories can morph into dangerous political opinions.

The Business of Tech is sponsored by 2degrees for Business.

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Dr Michelle Dickinson, also known as Nanogirl, has been working on taking her passion for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to as many people as possible.

During covid, Dickinson was a key part of a team getting the word out about how to keep as safe as possible and for her efforts, had her personal details published online and received threats.

Undeterred, she has spent years building up her business demystifying tech for businesses, and promoting STEM as a career choice for young people across NZ and beyond.

But in the last year, cuts to funding of science initiatives across the country have left her concerned that fewer young people than ever will be given the resources, space and support to learn to love science.

The Business of Tech is sponsored by 2degrees for Business.

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"The question is, who supports the bill? Well, honestly, basically everyone."

That's what Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly said about the Customer and Product Data (CPD) Bill at its first reading, and sure enough, every other party representative followed with their support.

The CPD Bill is the legislative force that mandates the sharing of customer data by organisations, starting with financial institutions - in other words, open banking.

So what is it about the Bill that has earned cross-party support? What changes will it bring for people across NZ? And why is NZ's open banking rollout already looking more promising than the UK's and Australia's?

Fintech leaders Josh Daniell from Akahu and Adrian Smith from BlinkPay join us to answer those questions and more.

Plus, what happened at Soul Machines, and Minister Judith Collins' big plans to bolster AI uptake.

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The tech world was knocked a little askew when the Commerce Commission blocked a huge exit for local DJ software company Serato.

The ComCom said the acquisition by AlphaTheta would reduce competition in the space but many in the tech sector said the move could put fear into startup founders and venture capitalists thinking about targeting a lucrative niche.

We're joined by tech entrepreneur Tim Warren and competition law expert Hayden Wilson, partner at Dentons Kensington Swan, who lay out the pros and cons of the block, and what could come next for the deal.

Plus, Crowdstrike!

The Business of Tech is powered by 2degrees Business.

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The National Science Challenges, a decade-long experiment in funding mission-led science has ended and the research shows it was a resounding success. 

Emeritus professor Sally Davenport joins us to explain what was learned over that time and how we can keep the spirit of mission-led science alive.

We also discuss the report out of the Treasury showing NZ lags in artificial intelligence adoption, and the Government Communications Security Bureau's statement that it needs a much better national cybersecurity strategy.

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150 New Zealand executives were given Spark-funded scholarships for a four-week course all about learning how to use modern AI tools to boost business productivity.

We talked to two of them, NZME's Matt Martel and the NZ Institute of Directors' Kristen 'KP' Patterson, who explained what they learned from the course and how it shaped their thinking about AI.

They outline the business cases they developed during the course and how they have started implementing them within their organisations.

Plus, Australia's open banking woes, concerns over AI power carbon emissions, and MT Gox and Cryptopia bankruptcy updates.

In this episode, Ben refers to the remaining assets of Cryptopia as being $775,000 of $28m - please note this is what remains of the liquid assets used to fund the liquidation process.

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When you've had one of the most successful careers in business in New Zealand, what do you do next?

For Xero founder Rod Drury the answer is to spend days mountain biking around Queenstown, wing foiling when he gets the chance, and meeting with government and business leaders to get national improvement initiatives moving.

He's pushed for the separation of energy generation and retailing, campaigned for more water storage across the country, worked to get an autonomous public transport system set up in Queenstown, advocated for the reduction of electronic payments fees, and spent days with Ngāi Tahu supporting environmental clean up.

In this rare interview, Drury goes deep into the why and how of all these, plus reflections on Xero, artificial intelligence, private funding of public infrastructure, and more.

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It's the fifth year for 2degrees' Shaping Business report that covers the state of business across New Zealand.

Once again, we're bringing you a deep dive into the report with a panel of eminent business figures.

This year, the panel includes 2degrees' chief executive Mark Callander, Deloitte partner Anna Fitzgibbon and Auckland Business Chambers chief executive Simon Bridges.

They cover business confidence, hybrid working, skills shortages, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and more.

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Reading list

• Shaping Business 2024 - 2degrees
• 2degrees survey reveals surprising optimism in business amid economic gloom - BusinessDesk

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There are a lot of great things about NZ; our relatively small population is one of them. But if we want to be a major player in the global software industry, we need to be where the people are: the US.

That's according to Nick Lissette, founder and chief executive of NZX-listed Blackpearl Group, who features this week in an interview about thinking big and bringing the export dollars home.

Plus, Peter jetted over to Sydney to check out the latest line-up of Windows Surface laptops and find out what makes these Co-Pilot+ devices so special.

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