Venturi's Voice: Technology | Leadership | Staffing | Career | Innovation

Ben Fry is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Expert Thinking. Expert Thinking design, build, and support powerful, dynamic, and cost-optimised Azure and AWS cloud solutions. During this episode, the two Ben's sit down to discuss Ben's career history and development in the industry, his leadership style and the culture he fosters at Expert Thinking.

Safa is CEO @ Autocab, an Uber company. Autocab is a Leading SaaS provider of taxi and transport dispach technology acquired by UBER in 2021. Creator of iGo ground transportation marketplace connecting demand generators and operators with millions of jobs exchanged. Ben sits down with Safa to discuss the story behind Autocab, and having recently been acquired by Uber, what that means for the business and its culture. They also spoke about Safa's leadership style and how that has developed over the years. Thanks to Safa and Autocab for hosting us in their beautiful offices in Manchester!

Aymeric is CTO @ Qonto Aymeric has built multiple innovative services with a strong focus on customer experience, innovation, quality and reliability. He loves fast-moving projects and entrepreneurial cultures. Qonto is the leading European business finance solution. It simplifies everything from everyday banking and financing, to bookkeeping and spend management. Qonto energizes SMEs and freelancers so that they can achieve more. During this podcast, Ben sits down with Aymeric to discuss the way the organisation is structured, how Aymeric leads teams of teams, and the different methods of working outside of scrum & Agile.

Shaun Anderson is a Field CTO at NearForm Shaun is the inventor of the Swift Method, a DDD based process for quickly understanding behavior of very complex software systems. He is also the creator of software tools that analyze existing systems, provide analytics and recommendations for modernization strategies. NearForm offers a new kind of partnership combining the development of both products and skills to accelerate digital delivery.  During this episode, Ben sits down with Shaun to discuss what modernization in tech means.

Richard is Group Chief Technology Officer at Haymarket Media Group. During this podcast, Ben sits down with Richard to discuss his incredible career in tech, some of his biggest learnings on this journey, and the importance of being a pragmatic technologist.

Lana is Technology Director, Data & AI @ TPXimpact. TPXimpact delivers impactful, sustainable, digital transformation that enriches how individuals and society experience the world. During this episode, Ben sits down with Lana to discuss how to encourage and inspire the next generation into pursuing a career in technology.

Anna Ratala is CEO & Co-Founder @ Zvook. Zvook helps brands find the most relevant podcasts and book host-read ads in just a few clicks. Anna joined Ben in New York to discuss the ever-expanding world of podcasting, Anna's incredible career journey, and the catalyst to start the business.

Moritz Waldstein-Wartenberg is CEO @ Mitte. Mitte® improves life with better water. They replace bottled water and enable users worldwide to turn tap water into individualized, better water with revolutionary connected home appliances. During this episode, Ben sits down with Moritz to discuss how the business was started, the challenges of bringing a physical product to market, and the exciting future of the business.

Daniel Bartholomae is a Berlin-based founder, manager, and developer. After writing his first program at the age of six, he built his interest in technology, data, and self-management. Daniel is currently CTO @ optilyz. He is building the product and engineering team by improving product focus, setting up cross-functional teams and enhancing software craft. Optilyz is Europe’s leading direct mail automation & programmatic print software.  During this episode, Ben sits down with Daniel to discuss the modern role of a developer, to solve user problems, and using code as a tool to achieve this. The role of "Product Developer" follows from this idea. But what if we follow this idea and setup the full Product and Engineering organization around this goal?

Seth Weinheimer is technical co-founder @ Listo Global Listo is on a mission to lift people everywhere by empowering organizations to find, hire and pay global talent with a world-class team and technology platform. Seth believes in a high trust and autonomous work environment, so during this episode, Ben sits down with Seth to discuss the benefits of this way of working and the mentality shift that goes with asynchronous work.

Tom is CEO and Co-Founder @ Orka Technology - an API-first WorkerTech company. Orka is on a mission to improve the way the world works by creating innovative WorkerTech that enables a workforce seeking a fast, fair and flexible work life. As technology evolves the way people live, Orka is evolving the way people work - providing a digital-first workforce with the tools to find, onboard and get paid for the work they choose. During this podcast, Ben sits down with Tom to discuss Orka's growth, the business's current state, and what they are working towards. What makes a perfect candidate for a start-up, as well as knowledge and experience to help aspiring CEOs.

Anwar Sultan is Chief Digital & Strategy Officer at Ello Group Anwar is a digital leader and board director passionate about using technology, data & marketing to drive and deliver business growth. Experience working with various sizes businesses with a proven track record of developing, coaching and mentoring high-performing teams and individuals. Ello Group are the experts in acquisition, engagement and loyalty, building relationships between brands and consumers. During this episode, Ben is joined by co-host Georgia Royle and Anwar to discuss the business, Anwar's amazing career history, and his thoughts on leadership and business culture.

Mike Brits is Senior Engineering Manager @ Booking.com Booking.com is an online travel agency for lodging reservations & other travel products, and a subsidiary of Booking Holdings.  During this episode, Ben sits down with Mike to discuss how businesses can use internal culture as a tool, as well as the differences between working in a small and large tech business.

James Yorston is CTO @ Zero Gravity James is an accomplished Software Engineer with experience operating within Fortune 500 engineering teams. Keen technologist with a background in Computer Science and published industry research, applying proven engineering principles to create effective, high-quality teams and products. Zero Gravity is an award-winning tech startup that propels students from low-income backgrounds into the UK’s best universities and careers. During this episode, Ben sits down with James to discuss the business growth from the early days, how the culture has developed, and how Zero Gravity breaks down barriers to opportunity.

At the time of recording Jose Sanchez Loureda was Chief Data & Analytics Officer @ The Crown Estate, and now is CTO @ Mode Jose is an Innovative Technology, Data & Product leader with considerable experience in driving digital business transformation and providing strategic leadership that has had a demonstrable impact on business performance. During this episode, Ben sits down with Jose to discuss how Jose Leads the data & analytics transformation, encompassing people, technology, governance and culture across the organisation.

Jay Jetley CTA at Trinny London & Taher Khaliq CTO @ Trinny London Founded by Trinny Woodall from her kitchen table in 2017, Trinny London was founded with one purpose – to give everyone the tools they need to feel their best. They have achieved tremendous growth since 2017 and we’re proud to be one of Europe’s fastest-growing beauty brands. During this episode, Ben sits down with Jay and Taher in the Trinny London offices to talk about the business's early days, what that was like, and the tech developments that have shaped the business, resulting in dramatic scale and success.

Brian Jenney is a JavaScript enthusiast who learned to code well into adulthood. He wrote his first line of code nearly a decade ago and since then has worked around the SF Bay Area as a full stack developer at startups and large companies as well as taught at a few bootcamps. Currently, Brian works as an Engineering Manager in Clorox’s DTC (direct-to-consumer) group. His small, front-end focused team works on the e-commerce site experience for Clorox’s wellness brands. Clorox DTC is a newer group at Clorox and is helping drive innovation within the larger Clorox organization as they venture into the direct-to-consumer space. The engineering team, while small, plays an integral role at DTC and is currently working on creating scalable solutions to launch e-commerce sites for multiple brands.

Jesal Gadhia is Engineering Manager @ BetterUp Jesal is a seasoned engineering manager & full-stack developer from Los Angeles. Started his programming adventures at an early age, writing code for fun. His journey has taken him from co-founding & leading engineering at a dev shop, to now Managing the Engineering team at BetterUp. BetterUp helps organizations drive transformation through lasting behavior change for all your key people. During this podcast, Ben sits down with Jesal to discuss his entrepreneurial journey within the tech industry.

Keith Myers is Creative Director of AVimmerse After years spent creating quality 360 audio-visual content for a number of high-profile clients, the founder, Keith Myers, sought a new challenge - to master the art of experiential storytelling. To create truly immersive worlds in which users didn’t just control the narrative, but could also explore and engage in a whole new way. During this episode, Ben is joined by co-host Jacob Ovendale and Keith to discuss the Metaverse; where we are now, the future, and how the Metaverse can be defined. Thanks to The Regency for providing excellent hospitality for this podcast recording.

Neil Kimmett is Director of Engineering at ClassPass This is Neil's second appearance on the Venturi's Voice Podcast, and this one was recorded in person at Neil's offices in New York. During this episode, Ben sits down with co-hosts Frank DeLeo and Evan Farragher to have an open conversation with Neil about the recent news of ClassPass being acquired, and what that means for the business, team structure, and culture. Thanks again to Neil for hosting us in New York and for providing a great conversation, we loved it!