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

Melissa Snover is CEO and Founder at Nourish3d and Script3d.  Melissa is an award-winning entrepreneur and visionary in the world of food technology. Having started her first company at the age of 23, she has been bringing innovative products to the consumer market ever since. She is a passionate supporter of women in business, as well as being a dedicated mentor; encouraging young people of all backgrounds to begin studying in STEM fields. Nourish3d is the world's first truly personalised nutrition product. Using patented 3D printing technology and a vegan encapsulation formula to create totally bespoke and delicious vitamin stacks. During this podcast episode, Ben sits down with Melissa to discuss how the business began, the inspiration behind starting the business and how Melissa has used 3D printing to create a solution to combat the limited constraints of mass production in confectionery. As well as Melissa's experience appearing on the BBC Series Dragons Den.

Mario Behrendt is Head of Engineering at Tails.com. Mario grew the software engineering team from 8 to 50 engineers across multiple countries, introduced a QA function and ensured delivery performance across all teams at Tails.com. He managed to scale internationally from 1 to 9 countries, while moving the Python-based monolith to a micro-service architecture. Tails.com is a dog food subscription company that creates tailored food for each and every dog they serve. They start by asking people a few simple questions about the owners' dog. Then Tails.com use that information to create their dog’s unique recipe – so their dog gets exactly the nutrition they need, in the taste they love, delivered to their door every month. Having created an entirely new category in pet food, they’re now scaling fast in the UK and Europe – backed by Purina, one of the worlds largest pet food companies. During this podcast episode, Ben sits down with Mario to discuss his career history to Head of Engineering, growing up in a sm

Ewan Leith leads RealityMine’s software engineering, operations and test teams, to deliver high quality software and services for its clients. He especially enjoys working with cutting-edge technology and great people — two things Ewan believes that RealityMine has plenty of! RealityMine enables the world’s leading market research organisations to monitor real consumers across multiple devices and on all major operating systems. This permission-based data collection provides unique insights into the behaviour of consumers and is integrated by agencies into syndicated products, audience measurement currencies and custom research globally. During this podcast episode, Ben sits down with Ewan to discuss how to create an environment that spawns innovation, and how to build and support that culture from the ground up. And as times have been more challenging during the pandemic - how to maintain this culture as teams are physically separated.

Tom Dunlop is Chief Executive Officer & Founder @ Summize. As an accomplished commercial and technology lawyer, Tom's experience with reviewing contracts was the catalyst that led to Summize. Prior to this, he worked as a Global Legal Director for several fast-growth technology companies. As a practicing lawyer himself, Tom saw the need to reduce cost and speed up the implementation time of products to change the way legal teams work, spawning the birth of Summize, which started with a simple question - how could contracts be made quicker and easier for legal teams?  During this podcast episode, Ben sits down with Tom to discuss Tom's career history and background as a professional GB athlete, his thoughts on the increase of tech adoption in the legal space, why the legal industry has previously been slow on the uptake with new technology.

Emily Zhang is the Head of Product at Oyster. She is excited to be part of this mission-driven company at this early stage to help launch, scale and succeed. Prior to joining Oyster, Emily built products at Carta and eBay. She began her career as a management consultant at Bain & Company. Emily grew up in Sydney and is currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Oyster is the platform that makes it easy for companies to hire, manage, pay, and look after their global team members. Their mission is to create a more equal world by making it possible for companies everywhere to hire people anywhere. During this podcast episode, Ben sits down with Emily to discuss Emily's career to date, remotely building and onboarding teams at scale, and the culture of Silicon Valley.

Lisa Li is Technical Lead at AND Digital. Lisa is a proficient developer with many years of experience in analysis, design and develop web and mobile-based applications. She has worked with design agents, e-commences, small businesses, large corporate and government projects. Lisa's roles have ranged from designing product wireframe, developing web and mobile applications to deploy applications to live environments. AND Digital accelerates the development of world-class digital capabilities, and power the product development of ambitious companies - from British Airways and Conde Nast, to The Telegraph, Gousto and more. During this podcast episode, Ben sits down with Lisa to discuss Lisa's career in technology with advice on how to grow from Junior to Senior in your role in tech. As well as why the tech industry still has a gender imbalance, and what it was like for Lisa at the beginning of her career entering into a male-dominated industry.

Dan McNeil is Director of Engineering at ComplyAdvantage. ComplyAdvantage, founded in 2014,  provides anti-money laundering technology. The company uses artificial intelligence, machine learning and natural language processing to help regulated organisations manage risk obligations and counteract financial crime. Dan McNeil is Director of Engineering and has a particular interest in people management, promoting diversity within teams and the importance of mental health awareness in the workplace. During this podcast episode, Ben sits down with Dan to discuss hiring at scale and how to remain inclusive during the hiring and onboarding process when hiring quickly as well as some of the pitfalls to be aware of, and some of the benefits a business can expect when hiring without bias.

Richard Somerfield is Chief Technology Officer at Summize. Summize enables legal teams to review their contracts quickly and efficiently. It is an intuitive and interactive software that summarises contractual points instantly and allows the management of key terms. During this Podcast episode, Ben sits down with Richard to discuss his career history and background in development, his decision to move from Silicon Valley to join a start-up in the UK, some of the key learnings Richard has taken from Silicon Valley and his thoughts on the future of the increase of tech adoption in the legal space. Check out our new Venturi's Voice Podcast YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9QPc0YqhTZE7wcL1srro6g

Check out the video podcast on our new YouTube Channel here: https://youtu.be/qd40xCjH2X0 Ben Towers is the Co-Founder of Tahora, and is one of ‘the most influential entrepreneurs on the planet’ whilst still only being 23 years old. Ben started in business aged 11 and has since successfully exited his marketing agency, invested in disruptive start-ups and inspired millions. Ben is now on a mission to change the health outcomes of his generation. Tahora is the culture and wellbeing platform creating inclusive hybrid workplaces with better connected and happier employees. During this podcast Ben sits down with Ben to discuss the most common issues that keep arising in terms of mental wellbeing in the workplace and how the Tahora platform can help, how and why Ben decided to create Tahora, and how businesses can introduce a mental wellbeing program for their workforce.

Michael Wolman is Director of Analytics and Data at Win Technologies, a proud member of the Betway Group. Michael started his career with BP on their commercial graduate scheme, with a short stint on a L'Oréal marketing internship. He then had a bit of a career speed bump with Virgin Media, and finally landed at Win Technologies (part of the Betway Group) as their Director of Analytics and Data. Betway Group, owned by Super Group, is a leading global provider of first-class entertainment across sports betting and casino. Since 2006, they have remained at the forefront of the online gaming industry, utilising the very latest technologies to provide innovative and interactive gaming experiences in a fair, safe, secure and responsible environment. During this podcast episode, Michael sits down with Ben to discuss his career journey to date and how Michael got started in his career, how he has developed his own leadership style, and some of the challenges motivating and engaging teams, particularly through tim

Louis Chery-Roberts is Head of Quality Assurance at Win Technologies, a proud member of the Betway Group. Louis's role involves working in an Agile environment whilst perform testing procedures on the Web /Mobile Application Software to ensure all errors are identified and corrected before release to stakeholders. Betway Group, owned by Super Group, is a leading global provider of first-class entertainment across sports betting and casino. Since 2006, they have remained at the forefront of the online gaming industry, utilising the very latest technologies to provide innovative and interactive gaming experiences in a fair, safe, secure and responsible environment. During this podcast episode, Ben sits down with Louis to discuss how Louis has navigated his career to get to Head of QA, how changes in technology have impacted Quality Assurance, and what we can expect for the future of Quality Assurance. They also discuss Louis's thoughts on leadership, and some of the challenges Louis faced when moving from a

Michael Gillett is currently Head of Development at Win Technologies, a proud member of the Betway Group. Michael studied Computer Science, specialising in User Interfaces and Web Site development, achieving an MSc with Distinction. Previous to that he studied Electrical and Electronic Engineering, specialising in Digital Systems and Computer Engineering, achieving a First-Class BEng with Honours. Betway Group, owned by Super Group, is a leading global provider of first-class entertainment across sports betting and casino. Since 2006, they have remained at the forefront of the online gaming industry, utilising the very latest technologies to provide innovative and interactive gaming experiences in a fair, safe, secure and responsible environment. During this podcast episode, Ben sits down with Michael to discuss how to identify and work with new technologies, what makes a great leader in the technology space and how Michael has developed his own leadership style.

Sally Goble is a highly motivated and self starting senior leader with over 10 years of industry experience and a track record of building and managing mixed discipline, distributed, teams of software engineers, SREs and QAs. Experience of both scale up and established tech teams.  Sally has an extensive career in tech, previously working at The Guardian Newspaper as Head of Quality - responsible for quality across all of the Guardian's digital products. Then moving to Deliveroo as Senior Engineering Manager, and now joins Attest as Engineering Manager.  Attest is a consumer research platform that provides confidence for every decision, with the right insight, at the right time.  During this Podcast episode, Ben sits down with Sally to discuss how to create seamless communication at scale, some of the pitfalls to be aware of and the benefits a business can expect when streamlining their communication strategy.

Watch the Video Podcast on our YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9QPc0YqhTZE7wcL1srro6g Matthew Sinclair is the Vice President of Engineering for BCG Digital Ventures (DV). BCG Digital Ventures is Boston Consulting Group’s corporate investment and incubation firm. Matthew joined BCG DV in January 2016. He oversees technology and engineering across all ventures at DV London, and as the current speaker for DV's Engineering Executive Committee, he takes an active role in coordinating the engineering cohort across DV's centers around the world. Since joining BCG, Matthew has been involved in a wide variety of ventures, taking CTO, director, advisory, and other senior leadership roles across a broad range of industries, including industrial goods, finance and insurance tech, mobility, resources, e-commerce, and private equity. He has been involved in the ideation, incubation, and launch of more than 30 internal or publicly launched client ventures. Matthew serves as a non-Fellow Board Membe

Check out the Video Podcast Here: https://youtu.be/Ugk8vD8auPw Mark Pybus is Data Practice Director at Contino. Mark works across enterprise organisations to deliver transformation through the creation and application of data systems at scale. Widely experienced in data and analytics, Mark delivers key engineering and organisational capabilities to ensure that the best data strategy delivers the best results. Contino is a leading transformation consultancy that helps large, heavily-regulated enterprises to become fast, agile and competitive. During the podcast episode, Ben sits down with Mark to discuss the evolution of a data professional, where we are now with data, and what we can expect from the future of data; looking at and drawing parallels between the history of software engineering and data. They also discussed data Mesh, defining it, and how to design and approach it.

Yoaquim Cintrón is Engineering Management & DevSecOps at Attune. Attune is an admitted small commercial market built to get business off your desk and on the books hassle free. Yoaquim has been labelled by co-workers at Attune as 'The Culture Guardian' for his work and efforts supporting a collaborative and 'people over everything' culture within the business. During this podcast episode, Ben sits down with Yoaquim to discuss the most important aspects and qualities of a leader, how Yoaquim has led his team through times of unforeseen change, and the considerations and pitfalls to be aware of when building an engineering team from scratch. It was an honour to have Yoaquim on the show to share his insights and knowledge with the tech community.

Dan Fiehn is Group Chief Operating Officer at Markerstudy Insurance, a leader and strategist with over 30 years’ experience. Dan Fiehn joined Markerstudy, the UK’s fifth largest motor insurance provider, in 2011 to head up the Group IT and Product Management divisions and led the rebrand of the division to ‘M-Powered’, building a culture of innovation, developing a scalable infrastructure to fast track mergers and acquisitions and underpinning rapid growth. Responsible for the IT digital strategy and IT and business cross functional teams, Dan created an award-winning team achieving recognition at the CIO Top 100, Gartner Eye on Innovation and Celent Model Insurer Awards. Dan is at the forefront of innovation which is transforming insurance, having successfully overseen the delivery of the market leading insurer-hosted rating hub and the acquisition of Co-op Insurance. I was fortunate enough to sit down with Dan to discuss his prolific career history, what people can do to better their chances of success

Neil Kimmett is a Senior Engineering Manager at ClassPass. Previously, Neil has worked on apps at companies like Harry's, Boiler Room, Marks & Spencers, alongside other startups in London, San Francisco, and New York. ClassPass Inc. is an American company which provides access to different fitness classes such as yoga, strength training, barre, martial arts, pilates, boxing, and indoor cycling classes, as well as use of health clubs via its flat-rate monthly subscription billing service. During the podcast episode, Ben sits down with Neil to discuss what lessons he has learned during the pandemic and how he has built the systems at ClassPass to allow the business to adapt so quickly and smoothly during this time. We also hear about what we can expect in the future for ClassPass and how Neil has successfully managed and motivated his team during such challenging times.

Anthony Mayer is Vice President of Engineering at Getsafe. Anthony had previously worked for many start-ups in Silicon Valley, then decided to make the move to rural Germany to help with Getsafe's mission to revolutionize the insurance industry. Since launching in 2018 in Germany, Getsafe has expanded to the UK and is now looking into further European markets. The company is headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany, with a satellite office in London, and employs more than 120 people. It is one of Europe’s best-funded insurtechs, serving over 150,000 customers. During the podcast episode, Ben sits down with Anthony to discuss what it's actually like living and working in Silicon Valley, and what the catalyst was to move away from that life. We also discussed how Getsafe simplifies the insurance industry using cutting-edge technology, and how Anthony stays productive during long periods of focus. Check out the Venturi's Voice Podcast on all streaming platforms, with over 500 interviews with leaders in technolog

Chris Allan is MHFA Instructor, Occupational Health Advisor and Co Host at Mind Games Podcast https://linktr.ee/AskMindGames. During the podcast episode, Ben sits down with Chris to discuss what businesses can do to support mental health in their workforce, some of the key things organisations can embed into their wellbeing strategy to support employees, some of the most common issues that Chris encounters when advising businesses, and some of the things people can do in general to look after their own mental health. Write into Mind Games Podcast with your questions for Chris here: askmindgamesuk@gmail.com.