Join us this week for The Tech Leaders Podcast, where Gareth sits down with Chris Moore, European President at Veeva Systems. Chris talks about the impact AI will have on software development and data security, how technology has transformed the life sciences industry, and the long-term implications of Covid on drug development.

On this episode, Chris and Gareth discuss how Chris helped make Veeva Europe more European, the importance of understanding the opportunities and threats associated with new technologies, and why the Y2K bug was a beautiful anti-climax.

Timestamps:

• ICI, Kinesis and PWC (3:40)
• IBM, EY and living abroad (10:28)
• Making Veeva Europe more European (17:30)
• The impact of Covid on drug development (29:05)
• The evolution of the CIO (33:00)
• AI: Hopes, fears and the impact on software development and pharma (36:33)
• Advice for 21-year-old Chris (51:46)

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Join us this week for The Tech Leaders Podcast, where Gareth sits down with Stuart Whayman, President of Corporate Markets at Elsevier, a part of RELX Group. They discuss how AI is revolutionising Research and Development, Elsevier-Reed’s shift from hardware to digital, and what the Red Arrows can teach us about leadership. 

Stuart also talks about how AI can augment rather than replace humans, why an LLM is not a truth model, and delves into some of the fascinating projects for the Elsevier Foundation Challenge – https://elsevierfoundation.org/chemistry-for-climate-action-challenge/. 

Timestamps: 

• Good Leadership, the Red Arrows, and studying at Oxford (2:12) 
• The Hardware to Digital Shift (10:15) 
• The Evolution of Data (17:10) 
• AI in Research and Development (21:30) 
• Will AI Augment or Replace (32:38) 
• AI Safety and Regulation (36:45) 
• The Future, Advice for 21-year-old Stuart, and the Elsevier Foundation Challenge (40:17) 

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Join us this week for The Tech Leaders Podcast, where Gareth sits down with Renata Vincoletto, CISO at Civica. After facing a deeply shocking setback, Renata chose resilience over resentment. Inspired by her mentor, she pushed forward, rising through the ranks to ultimately lead cybersecurity strategy for Civica, working on high-stakes government and public sector IT programmes. 

On this episode, Gareth and Renata discuss why good ITAM is crucial for Cybersecurity, the recent breaches at The Co-op and Marks & Spencer’s, and why geeks are more accepted in the UK than in Brazil. 

Timestamps:

• Good Leadership, why a Career in IT, and moving from Brazil to the UK (2:02)
• Lesson learned at Microsoft (7:50)
• The Marks and Spencer’s and Co-op Cyber Security breaches (12:50)
• The importance of ITAM to Cyber Security (16:10)
• Is there a Cyber Security skills shortage? (24:30)
• Women in Cyber Security (30:24)
• The AI risks to Cyber Security (41.05)
• Advice to 21-year-old Renata (51:08)

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Join us this week for The Tech Leaders Podcast, where Gareth sits down with Dr. Nicola Hodson, Chair at IBM UK and Ireland. Dr. Hodson talks about how to manage transformations in complex organisations, how UK Enterprises are adopting AI, and why Quantum computing might be coming sooner than you think. 

On this episode, Gareth and Dr. Hodson discuss why authenticity is underrated, the evolution of AI regulations, the importance of Polymaths, and how Concorde and a copy of the Encyclopaedia Brittanica inspired her to begin the journey which would lead to IBM. 

Timestamps: 

• Good leadership, Concorde and the Encyclopaedia Brittanica (2:40) 
• How to drive change in large organisations (9:36) 
• Polymaths (13:50) 
• IBM and Quantum computing (20:00) 
• ITAM Evolution and Hybrid Cloud Management (26:50) 
• Enterprise adoption of Agentic AI (31:10) 
• AI and Graduate jobs (36:40) 
• AI Regulation (41:08) 
• Advice for young IT professionals, and 21-year-old Nicola (43:30) 

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"You can't have good Cyber Security without Economic Security.'' 

Join us this week on The Tech Leaders Podcast, where Gareth Davies sits down with The Rt Hon Stephen McPartland, former MP and author of the McPartland Review into Cyber Security. Stephen talks about his time in Parliament, the impact of AI on Cyber Security, and why the UK is both uniquely well prepared and uniquely vulnerable. 

On this episode, Stephen and Gareth discuss what it’s like to work with Prime Ministers, how to prevent the widespread adoption of AI leading to “digital exclusion”, why we need to automate processes rather than jobs, and how a Scouser became Tory MP for Stevenage…

Timestamps: 

• Intro and good leadership (1:33) 
• Proudest achievements and lessons learned in Politics (7:54) 
• Ministerial role, and working with Prime Ministers (10:09) 
• Cyber Security and the Digital Economy (17:50) 
• AI, Government and Cyber Security (23:23) 
• Fostering a Cyber workforce (29:35) 
• LLMs and Agentic AI (33:14) 
• Cryptocurrencies and Post-Quantum Cryptography (38:28) 
• AI concerns – Digital exclusion and Rules of Engagement (46:25) 
• Stephen’s advice to his younger self (49:00) 

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Join us this week on The Tech Leaders Podcast, where Gareth Davies sits down with Matt Armstrong-Barnes, Group AI Practice Director at Servita, and former AI CTO at Hewlett-Packard Enterprises. Matt talks about his new role at Servita, the lessons he learned at HPE, and how effective AI Asset Management can help you keep control of your data.

On this episode, Matt and Gareth discuss effective AI implementation and adoption, the existing AI skills gap, and the new roles and careers that will emerge, and what we don’t understand about how AI works.

Timestamps: 

• Joining Servita (2:00) 
• AI Implementation and Adoption (5:40) 
• What “Data is the new Oil” actually means (12:00) 
• What we don’t understand about how AI works (18:33) 
• Lessons learned at HP (22:13) 
• Sports and AI (25:28) 
• AI Safety and even Blackmail? (28:19) 
• Trust and transparency in practice (35:40) 
• The AI skills gap and emerging careers (39:30) 
• AI Summit highlights (48:32) 

Brought to you by bedigital

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Join us this week on The Tech Leaders Podcast, as Gareth sits down with Joseph Connor, Chairman of Agentic AI specialist, CarefulAI and Professor at UCL and formerly Director of AI innovation at NHS England. Joseph talks about his allegiance to the NHS, his love of Stoicism, and his experiences building AI agents for businesses. 

On this episode Joseph and Gareth discuss why innovation is difficult in the public sector, how AI can help with effective ITAM and compliance, and how to make sure everyone benefits from Agentic AI.

Time Stamps: 

• Good leadership and Joseph’s early days (2:30) 
• Lessons learned and musings on Stoicism (7:19) 
• Allegiance to the NHS (11:10) 
• Careful AI (15:20) 
• What is Agentic AI? (23:48) 
• Maintaining control of AI Agents (30:44) 
• Always read the terms and conditions (35:55) 
• Concerns around the next five years of AI (40:10) 
• AI in education (49:10) 
• Conclusions (53:48) 

Access CriticalAIonAI podcast mentioned in the show here - https://www.carefulai.com/accelerating-safe-ai-providers.html

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“I had a team of me…and that was it!” 

Join us this week on The Tech Leaders Podcast, where Gareth Davies sits down with Darren Desmond, CISO at the AA, to discuss how AI will change the Cyber Security arms race, why it’s a strange time for CISOs, and how he was the most un-military recruit his training Sergeant had ever seen… 

Time stamps:

• What makes effective leadership in tech? (2:32)
•  Starting from scratch: "I had a team of me... and that was it!" (4:20)
•  Lessons from the Army and Atomic Weapons Establishment (6:20)
•  The Betfair culture shock: "Decisions made on the hoof" (15:20)
•  The key cybersecurity threat: Why ransomware remains a top concern (16:50)
•  How asset management strengthens cybersecurity (18:10)
•  CISO advice: Why asset management is critical for security (22:17)
•  The CyberSec arms race: How AI will change the game (24:58)
•  Why security is a team effort, not a standalone activity (26:00)
•  Ransomware evolution: "The risk of AI-driven attacks" (36:45)
•  AI in cybersecurity: The future, risks, and opportunities (40:20)
•  Career advice: "Pick a goal and work towards it" (45:06)

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Join us this week on The Tech Leaders Podcast, where Gareth Davies sits down with Arun “Rak” Ramchandran, President and Global Head of Consulting and GenAI at Hexaware, on the day they launched a multi-Billion Dollar IPO in India. They discuss the Indian economic boom of the ‘90s, and why Gen AI is different to previous tech revolutions. 

Time stamps: 

• Hexaware’s Big Day: The IPO Launch (2:25)
• US vs. India: Where to List the IPO? (3:57)
• Leadership Philosophy: “Do It for Fun” (6:15)
• Rak’s Early Career Journey: Meandering, Horizontal and Vertical (7:51)
• The Indian Economic Boom (10:51)
• From Infosys to Virtusa: Regrets and Learnings (13:12)
• Leadership Lessons from Infosys Founder, N.R. Narayana Murthy (15:54)
• Why Rak Chose Hexaware (19:56)
• How Gen AI Differs from Previous Tech Revolutions (24:04)
• AI’s Ability to Consider Alternatives Humans Can’t (28:50)
• Will AI Displace White-Collar Workers? (31:10)
• Gen AI’s Impact on the SaaS Industry (33:47) 

https://www.bedigitaluk.com/

Join us this week on The Tech Leaders Podcast, where Gareth Davies sits down with Andre Durand, Founder and CEO of Ping Identity, to discuss how early-stage entrepreneurs form a blood pact with their colleagues, what it’s like to found a company in an industry that doesn’t exist, the million dollar deep-fake risk, and why life is like a hockey stick… 

Time stamps:

• Lessons from Andre’s First Two Exits (8:18) 
• The True Goal of an Entrepreneur (10:00) 
• Balancing Work and Life in a Startup (11:42) 
• Day One at Ping: The Journey Begins (15:58) 
• The Evolution of Identity & Access Management (IAM) (23:29) 
• The Future Without Passwords? (27:11) 
• The Rise of New Biometrics (28:51) 
• Fundraising Tips for Entrepreneurs (32:25) 
• How AI & Deepfakes Challenge IAM Security (35:19) 
• AI, Fear & Excitement: “Intelligence Defines the Hierarchy” (38:26) 
• Advice to 21-Year-Old Andre (40:49) 

Book recommendation: “Good & Great by Choice”: Jim Collins 

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