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

Peter is CTO at Moonpig and a non-exec chairman at Mother Group Ltd. The podcast starts with Andy and Peter discussing the Northern Powerhouse. Peter tells Andy about the strategies he employs to determine the ROI of new technologies and Andy asks how he decides what new tech to invest in. They also chat about automation and how it is making our working day both more complex yet easy. Moonpig Moonpig has been on the scene since 2000 and has made over 100 million Moonpig moments for our customers here in the UK and as far afield as the US and Australia. They started with cards and have kept on adding new ways to make a Moonpig moment since then, whether through their ever-expanding gift range or becoming a top three UK online flower seller for all the big occasions. They’ve been part of the Photobox Group since 2011. Along with the Photobox brand, and our sister companies Hofmann and PosterXXL, together they’re Europe’s leading retailer of personal and personalised products.

Matt is VP of Engineering at Finimize.com Overseeing the build of our personal finance platform designed to empower millennials to become their own financial advisers. Finimize Finimize is on a mission to empower everyone to become their own financial advisor. They provide the information and tools you need to invest with confidence.

(All views expressed in this podcast are Brian’s and Brian’s alone. He does not reflect the views of Amazon) Brian is Senior Program Manager - Inclusion & Diversity at Amazon. Brian is a human-obsessed working father who is passionate about improving the employee experience for everyone. He likes to drive value through curiosity, insight analysis, stakeholder collaboration and intolerance of prejudice. Brian loves learning and has a postgraduate qualification in Marketing, Philosophy and Computer Science, and studying for a second degree in Humanities. Amazon Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. They are driven by the excitement of building technologies, inventing products, and providing services that change lives. Amazon embraces new ways of doing things, make decisions quickly, and are not afraid to fail. They have the scope and capabilities of a large company, and the

Fawzi is Studio Game Design Director at King Fawzi is a passionate Creative Director, Game designer, Leader, author, public speaker and retired e-sports player that has been in the gaming industry for over 15 years. His career has spanned The Middle East, New Zealand, Japan and Europe. As an author, he wrote the first ever text book about game design in Arabic. He’s a columnist at Pocket Gamer Arabia, and blogs frequently about game design and the business of making games. King King is a leading interactive entertainment company for the mobile world, with people all around the world playing one or more of our games. We have developed more than 200 fun titles, and offer games that are enjoyed all around the world. King is an independent unit of Activision Blizzard Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), which acquired King in February 2016. Podcast A career in the video games industry is the big discussion point of this show. Fawzi talks Andy through his career in the sector and he offers some advice for those looking for a c

Sebastian is the founder & CEO at Mettrr. Sebastian studied IT before moving into financial markets. It wasn’t until his dad asked him to build him a website that the idea for Mettrr came to him. One of the first companies to gain financial backing from crowdsourcing Mettrr raised £100,000 in 11 days. Mettrr Mettrr is a DIFM (Do It For Me) website design, build and management service purpose-built for small businesses across the world. Podcast In this show Andy asks Sebastian about his vision for Mettrr. They also discuss the role of automation is playing in the tech sector and they chat about acquiring funding.

Sean is Talent Manager at Improbable Sean is currently on a mission to hire a new generation of leaders across all spaces and verticals at Improbable. Improbable Improbable is dedicated to building powerful technology designed to help solve previously impossible problems and enable the creation of new realities. In gaming and entertainment, Improbable unlocks truly next-generation game play through virtual worlds of unprecedented scale, persistence and richness. In other industries, we hope to help answer critical questions through simulations that could lead to a better functioning world. Podcast On the show Sean talks to Andy about filling the skills gap in technical disciplines. They also discuss how to maintain a strong company culture in the face of business growth and chat about hiring employees based on company values.

Steve is CEO of Black Swan Data. On the show Steve recites the story of how he came to found Black Swan Data. It involves the pub and a quick detour in to history. Andy also about Black Swan’s ‘Applied Predictions’ product and how they are helping revolutionise the data space. Black Swan Data Black Swan Data creates better outcomes through technology and the power of prediction. Their products transform the way brands create value from data, finding insights and solutions that create an advantage for their business. They analyse consumer behaviour using public and private data, then build cutting edge technology based on predictive models to create better outcomes - they call this “Applied Prediction”. Podcast On the show Steve tells Andy about the foundation of Black Swan Data. He talks us through the concept of ‘applied predictions’ and they discuss how a manager can determine the ROI of data.

Ian is head of research and development at Quantexa. A background in physics has equipped Ian with an analytical mind. One he has used extensively in his consulting career and beyond into his role with Quantexa. A savvy problem solver with a mind for numbers Ian has been instrumental in the growth of Quantexa. Quantexa Quantexa empowers organisations to drive better decisions from their data. Using the latest advancements in big data and AI, Quantexa uncovers hidden customer connections and behaviours to solve major challenges in financial crime, customer insight and data analytics. Podcast Ian chats to Andy about all aspects of people management. They discuss how to maintain a positive work culture when faced with a company's rapid growth. They also talk about getting the balance right between formality in the workplace and creating a comfortable environment for everyone.

Sean is Head of IT at CTIL. Sean is a highly motivated and commercially aware Information Technology Executive. He has a track record of delivering increased levels of productivity, efficiency and customer satisfaction. Sean has over 20 years’ experience of leading & mentoring teams spanning the full range of global IT operations, infrastructure, business systems and, service management. CTIL Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited (CTIL) was founded in 2012 as a joint venture between Vodafone and Telefónica to manage the network sites for both companies including the consolidation of sites to create a single grid. Podcast On the show, Andy asks Sean about implementing artificial intelligence into a business. They also discuss running hackathons and constantly innovating as a company.

Chris Astall Twenty years of success in various technical roles has equipped Chris with a deep knowledge and passion for cutting edge tech. He is a gifted communicator who relishes the opportunity to convey the benefits of technology to stakeholders and business leaders alike. A strategic leader Chris has built, developed and motivated IT teams across a variety of companies ranging from large enterprise companies and innovative startups. Photobox Photobox Group is Europe’s leading digital consumer service for personalised products and gifts. From photobooks and unique artwork to the very latest personalised apparel, gifts, and greeting cards. Photobox products enable customers across 15 countries to share memories, celebrate great moments and inject personal expression into their everyday lives. Podcast Creating non-traditional career paths into technical roles is a key focus of the show. Chris discusses the pro’s and con’s of a technical degree when there are so many resources online. He also wade

Richard Eaton is founder and Managing Director of Appware. A stalwart of the software industry, Richard has over 25 years experience working as a developer. He produced and released his first piece of software when he was 14 years old and never looked back from there. Richard has the rare combination of both technical and commercial skills. He can design concepts and architect systems. Then successfully take these developments to market and monetise them. Appware Appware develop cross-platform mobile apps for clients across all major mobile devices including: iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows Mobile and Blackberry. They also provide backend development services to support these Apps as well as websites for marketing them so you only have to deal with one company for your entire App project.

Marta Jasinska is Chief Technology Officer at Moo. Marta is a leader in both technology and engineering. She specialises in mid to large scale web platform development for e-commerce, gaming, apps and more. MOO MOO launched in 2006 and aims to disrupt the trillion dollar global print industry by combining the values of professional design with accessibility and reach of the web. With rapid annual growth, MOO has become one of the fastest growing print businesses in the world and has over 500 employees in 6 locations across the UK and US. Podcast How to successfully scale a company is the key focus of this podcast. Andy asks Marta about the various factors both within a tech team and a business as a whole that can both drive growth and hamper it.

John is CTO at Financial Times John exemplifies the values of the FT. He values high-quality journalism which is becoming increasingly rare in this fake news era. John is a big advocate of diversity, inclusion, fairness and wants to belong to an empowered, data-driven, outcome-driven organisation. He loves working with technology to solve engineering challenges. Financial Times The Financial Times is one of the world’s leading business news organisations, recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. The FT marks 130 years in 2018 with a record paying readership of more than 930,000. The FT is now a majority digital content business, with digital subscriptions up to 739,554, representing more than three-quarters of the total paying audience. Content revenues represent almost two-thirds of total revenues, double the share of five years ago. Podcast On the show John talks to Andy about the recent LinkedIn article he’s written about diversity and inclusion. They go on to discuss how bes

“Business advice can be really dangerous. If people are taking advice as gospel it’s dangerous because you can receive advice off a mentor that applied to them 20, 30 years ago. There business problems are different to yours and the pressures they were facing can be miles away from the ones you face today. What advice is, most of the time, is what’s worked for someone else. So with advice, take it in but don’t use it, don’t look at it as advice. It’s just knowledge and experience. Make sure you soak up as much experience as you can and apply it to your own problems.” Jamie commenting on the dangers of taking business advice at face value. Jamie is founder and CEO of Jungle Creations There’s exciting times ahead for Jamie and Jungle Creations. He’s four years into his startup journey and currently going through his series A funding round. Jamie is a serial entrepreneur, starting his first business whilst at university in Manchester. Jungle Creations Jungle Creations is a leading media company for the socia

Disrupting the property market - Ranj Abass & Chiara Buzzi by Venturi Group: CTO, Data, Development, Cyber Security, Business Intelligence, Infrastructure, Cloud

David is Director of engineering for eCommerce at Photobox. David joined Photobox to help them restructure their approach to engineering and deliver a new eCommerce experience and platform. His overall aim is to return the company to significant growth. David currently runs 9 teams of over 70 people spread across London, Paris, and Lviv. Photobox Photobox has grown to become the European market-leader in photo-based products serving millions of customers a year in over ten markets. Whether it's personalised canvases, calendars, mugs, jigsaws, phone covers, or our classic photo books, Photobox has a wide range of products perfect for every occasion. Podcast On the show, David talks to Andy about the stresses and excitement of moving into a management position. They also discuss providing technical solutions to real-world problems and how to take a disciplined approach to work.

Sherin is Founder at AI Tech UK & a Microsoft Analytics and AI Solution Architect at IBM. Sherin is an expert in helping businesses with Cloud adoption and AI-readiness by defining a Cloud Data Strategy, AI Strategy and ultimately architecting a fit-for-purpose Enterprise scale architecture. He builds solution that are scalable to meet the current BI and Analytics demand and also the future AI and Big Data requirements! He has over 12 year’s experience working in technical and analytical roles within multinational companies. Sherin specialise in applying Business Intelligence and Azure E2E Cloud implementation experience in Data Warehousing and realising the BI Strategy. AI Tech UK AI Tech UK is a collaborative platform for AI Innovation. It’s a forum for AI expression and innovation, welcoming decision makers to decision influencers along with the hustlers, enablers, thinkers and disruptors all under one roof talking about the new trend - Intelligence! AI-Tech is a platform to bring like-minded, pass

“Let's give the financial services market a bigger mission than money. I’m hoping to build something that people will care about and will love. Not because it has great user experience, even though it is, but because it genuinely cares about people becoming their best selves. We’re not in this business for the money but we’re in it to create a movement that helps people actualise their full potential” Josh on changing the world with fintech software Josh is Co-founder & CTO at Yulife. An experienced executive and entrepreneur Josh creates value in a digital world. He helps big businesses adapt to leverage the power of web, mobile, and data. Josh is an Inspiring and enthusing team leader who wants to push the boundaries of what has been done before, creating award-winning digital and mobile strategies. He enjoys managing projects from inception to execution both within the UK and Internationally. Yulife Yulife is the world’s first lifestyle insurance company. We bring together life insurance, well

Alvin is CTO at TheHouseShop.com He’s worked in technology for over a decade as a software engineer and a technical manager. Working across a wide range of industries including finance, publishing, property & mapping technologies Alvin is as comfortable writing code as he is managing teams. TheHouseShop.com TheHouseShop.com is the UK's No.1 Property Marketplace where agents, landlords, homeowners, and developers all advertise properties for sale and to rent in the UK. TheHouseShop.com provides a gateway for homeowners to access all the ways to sell a home: from For-Sale-By-Owner and online agents to high street agents and even property auctions. Users have the opportunity to search the entire market in one place, with listings from private sellers, online agents, high street agents, property auctions and online estate agents. TheHouseShop's unique selection of properties will not be found on other major UK portals which cater exclusively to agents. Podcast On the show Alvin tells Andy about the po

Robert is Chief Squads and Service Officer at AND Digital. Rob is a technology leader with mixed consulting & industry background focusing on true stakeholder engagement in delivering change and technology. AND Digital AND Digital accelerates the development of world-class digital capabilities, and they power the product development of ambitious companies - from British Airways and Conde Nast, to The Telegraph, Gousto and more. They work with clients’ people to build impactful products AND high performing teams. AND Digital blends technical craft and product expertise with an award-winning approach to talent growth and development. Podcast On the show, Robert and Andy talk about the increasing role AI and audio software is playing in our lives. They also chat about determining an ROI when using new technologies. Robert tells Andy about his role as a ‘Chief Squads and Service Officer’.