The STEM Career Coach

In this episode of The STEM Career Coach, Donnie Maclary sits down with Sumesh Rahavendra, Chief Digital & Strategy Leader at Pos Malaysia, to reveal how you can stop waiting for promotion and start leading at the level you aspire to right now. You’ll discover:

• Why “thinking better” beats just “working harder.” Sumesh explains that as you climb, success depends less on effort volume and more on evolving your thought process to match your aspirational role .
• How to act into your next role today. Learn to “think, feel, say and do things at a level you aspire to, not the level you’re in”—so you build credibility before your title catches up .
• The one empty chair you must always fill. Discover the CEO lesson that “the customer pays your salary… the customer pays your bonus,” and why leaving an empty seat for the end user transforms every decision .
• The three habits of high-impact STEM leaders: curiosity → deep dive → ownership. Adopt a founder’s mindset to tackle challenges as if they were your own venture
• Global leadership & remote hiring insights. From defining your “why” to navigating time zones and cultural nuances, Sumesh shares real advice on building and empowering distributed teams .

Whether you’re an early-career engineer or a senior technologist, this candid, framework-driven conversation gives you the exact mindsets and behaviors to step into leadership, before the promotion arrives.

Ready to uncover the playbook for inclusive STEM leadership? In this episode of The STEM Career Coach, host Donnie Maclary sits down with Telle Whitney—co-founder of the Grace Hopper Celebration and veteran advocate for women in tech—to discover the “6 Cs” that drive high-performing, diverse teams. You’ll learn: - Creativity & Curiosity: How seeking out cognitive dissonance sparks breakthrough innovation - Courage & Confidence: Real-world steps to embrace risk and own your voice - Community & Communication: Building authentic mentorship and sponsorship programs that scale - Global Perspectives: Strategies for nurturing inclusive cultures from Asia to Austin - Mental Health & Belonging: Practical tips to support under-represented talentWhether you’re charting your first internship or eyeing a leadership role, Telle’s candid stories and proven frameworks will give you the insight and inspiration to lead—and thrive—in any STEM environment. Hit play now and take your first step toward mastering these core principles!🚀 Looking to get ahead in your career?Sign up to our newsletter for expert advice, industry trends, and job opportunities: https://www.airswift.com/newsletter-s...✅ Explore our global jobs board: https://hubs.ly/Q02GXf-90🔔 Subscribe to Airswift’s YouTube: http://bit.ly/airswiftyoutube🌐 Learn more about us: https://www.airswift.com/about/👥 Join the Airswift family: https://www.airswift.com/employee/

What does human-centered leadership look like in the age of AI?In this highlight reel from Season 2 of the AI to Z podcast, we bring together powerful moments from ten remarkable guests—executives, innovators, and thinkers reshaping the way we work, lead, and build trust with technology.🎙️ Featured Guests & Topics: - Julie Flowers on using AI to personalize hiring and put candidates first - Carl Marci on tech addiction, mental health, and reclaiming attention - Todd Unger on fixing customer journeys with smart automation - Pearl Chu on inclusion, authenticity, and recognition in global teams - Fumbi Chima on what real transformation and innovation demand - Leslie Vickrey on AI as a tool—not a replacement—for human connection - Megan Roudebush on ethics, governance, and designing AI for good - Richard Lord on AI in finance, responsibility, and pragmatic adoption - Lauren B. Jones on digital fluency, bias removal, and fearless adaptation - Russ Neuman on evolutionary intelligence, societal shifts, and regulationThis is your blueprint for leading with confidence, empathy, and strategic clarity in a time of unprecedented change.🧠 Whether you're building a team, launching innovation, or adapting your career—these insights are your edge.🚀 Looking to get ahead in your career?Sign up to our newsletter for expert advice, industry trends, and job opportunities: https://www.airswift.com/newsletter-s...✅ Explore our global jobs board: https://hubs.ly/Q02GXf-90🔔 Subscribe to Airswift’s YouTube: http://bit.ly/airswiftyoutube🌐 Learn more about us: https://www.airswift.com/about/👥 Join the Airswift family: https://www.airswift.com/employee/

What does it take to lead in an AI-powered world?In this highlight reel from Season 1 of the AI to Z podcast, we bring together the most powerful insights from ten visionary guests. You’ll hear from executives, founders, technologists, and change agents on what it really means to navigate transformation—with AI, with people, and with purpose.🎙️ Featured Guests & Topics: - Hagen Wenzek on how AI improves consistency in healthcare decisions - Wayne Butterfield on redesigning work for automation - Jill Porubovic on navigating resistance and IT change - Jennifer Ives on tech ROI, data strategy, and engaging future talent - John Higginson on inclusive leadership and solving for fairness - Casey Jacox on humility, accountability, and winning relationships - Lisa Sun on authentic confidence and vulnerability in leadership - Merav Yuravlivker on data literacy, remote culture, and responsible AI - Ken Corriveau on AI ethics, adaptability, and future jobsThis is a masterclass in modern leadership, culture-building, and the real human dynamics behind AI adoption.🧠 Whether you're a tech executive, team leader, or just curious about how top minds are thinking—this is your shortcut to the ideas that matter.

In this episode, we explore how the digital breadcrumbs you leave behind—everything from your Instagram posts to your phone’s sleep data—can paint a surprisingly vivid picture of who you are. But how much of that picture are you even aware of? And what happens when others—researchers, companies, or algorithms—see it before you do? Join us as we dive into the science of human behavior through data, uncovering how identity, intention, and unintentional habits all come together in ways that may surprise you.🚀 Looking to get ahead in your career?Sign up to our newsletter for expert career advice, industry insights, and the latest job opportunities: https://www.airswift.com/newsletter-s...✅ Sign up to our jobs board: https://hubs.ly/Q02GXf-90🔔 Subscribe to learn more about Airswift: http://bit.ly/airswiftyoutube🌐 Find out more about Airswift here: https://www.airswift.com/about/👥 Want to join the Airswift family? Check out vacancies: https://www.airswift.com/employee/

How can you capture clean, standardized data from any point-of-sale system—without ripping and replacing your tech stack?Our guest, Jakub Ruzicka, Chief Product and Technology Officer at EYOS, breaks it down. Drawing on his background in statistics, NLP, and scale-up leadership, Jakub shares how his team is solving one of retail’s messiest challenges: fragmented transaction data and limited visibility into offline sales.YRS has developed a platform-agnostic solution that sits directly on any POS device, providing real-time insights, marketing visibility, and even fraud detection potential—without the need for hundreds of custom integrations.“The main value it really brings is that it sits on top of any point of sale device... the normal way how companies would get insights into such data would be pretty much integrating hundreds of APIs... and especially in regions like South Asia, this might be quite tricky. Just capturing everyone is impossible without a universal solution.” – Jakub RuzickaWhether you’re in retail, fintech, marketing, or data strategy, this conversation answers key questions about where AI and product thinking are merging to deliver real business outcomes.If you’ve ever wrestled with messy integrations, incomplete dashboards, or missed opportunities because of poor data visibility—this one’s for you.

What does it take to build a successful digital agency in Southeast Asia—without outside funding, in a market still catching up to digital?

In this episode, Andrew Turner shares how he and a small team turned a shoestring SEO project into a full-scale digital agency in Malaysia that caught the attention of global network Dentsu. Along the way, he explains why timing, adaptability, and data-driven thinking were key to their growth.

They didn’t start with a business plan or big backing—just a belief in digital. “We set this company up from scratch — literally just a bunch of us around a swimming pool,” Turner says, reflecting on the scrappy beginnings that led to a five-year acquisition journey.

If you're trying to grow something real in an emerging market—or wondering what digital transformation actually looks like when you're in it—this episode gives you the inside track.

Quantum computing is beginning to reshape how STEM professionals work — and how entire industries think about innovation.In this episode, Donnie Maclary speaks with Raghu Koduvayur, former VP at IQM Quantum Computers, about how quantum computing is moving from labs into real-world applications. They explore what this means for current and future roles in science, engineering, and tech, as well as how sectors like healthcare, energy, and logistics are preparing for change.As Raghu puts it, “We will be at a position to solve problems that we have not even imagined today. Like the problems — we don't even understand the problems today — and we will be able to find solutions for them.”Whether you're building a career in STEM or leading innovation in your organization, this conversation breaks down what quantum computing could mean for your future.🚀 Looking to get ahead in your career?Sign up to our newsletter for expert career advice, industry insights, and the latest job opportunities: https://www.airswift.com/newsletter-s...✅ Sign up to our jobs board: https://hubs.ly/Q02GXf-90🌐 Find out more about Airswift here: https://www.airswift.com/about/👥 Want to join the Airswift family? Check out vacancies: https://www.airswift.com/employee/

As AI reshapes global industries, fintech is leading the charge — and that means new opportunities for talent, businesses, and innovation.In this episode, Dmytro Voronenko, Co-Founder & CEO of TurnKey Lender, shares how automation and AI are making digital lending as easy as e-commerce, and what that means for companies, job seekers, and underbanked communities around the world.“Our reason was that one day... digital lending will be as easy as e-commerce,” says Dmytro.We explore: - How fintech is creating new career paths across tech and financial services - Why AI-driven lending matters for underserved markets - What “lending on autopilot” means for business leaders and future hiring needsWhether you're hiring in fintech or planning your next career move, this episode connects the dots between innovation, opportunity, and impact.

Is AI transforming workplace learning or just making it more complicated? Are companies actually helping employees upskill, or are they stuck in outdated training methods?In this episode, David Yeo, founder of Kydon, reveals why companies need to rethink AI-powered learning—and how employees can stay competitive in a rapidly changing world. He shares how his company pivoted from traditional content-driven training to AI-driven, conversation-based learning, why productivity matters more than passive learning, and how AI is reshaping career growth.

🔹 “Moving forward, it is no longer content-driven… It’s conversation-driven. It’s about problem-solving rather than watching courses.” – David Yeo​

If you’ve ever wondered:

✅ How can AI help employees stay employable and competitive?

✅ What’s the real ROI of AI-powered learning?

✅ Is traditional training dead, and what’s replacing it?

…then this episode is for you. No fluff, just real answers.