A Class Act: AI Builders & Founders

S3E1: AI in Customer Service: Sabio's Chief AI Officer Stuart Dorman on What Changed and What Hasn't

Stuart is Chief AI Officer at Sabio Group, a CX consulting and technology firm that has spent two decades helping large organisations run their contact centres. He was working on speech recognition and natural language when it was still called speech technology, long before ChatGPT made any of it mainstream, so he has watched several waves of this arrive and seen which ones actually changed anything. In the second episode of season 3, Michael Young asks him what genuinely changed after ChatGPT, why the predicted wave of job losses has not materialised, and what separates the organisations getting real value from AI from the ones putting staff through a morning of Copilot training and calling it transformation. If you run a contact centre, own CX, or are trying to work out what AI is genuinely worth in a service organisation, this one is for you. What you’ll discover: What Sabio was doing with speech recognition and natural language back in 2004, and whether today feels revolutionary or like the technology finally caught up The moment AI stopped being something Sabio sold to clients and started changing Sabio itself Why the Silicon Valley prediction that customer service would be first for job disruption has not played out the way it was sold Why he sees AI as an expansive rather than a reductive technology The argument that the organisations who win are not the ones handling the most interactions, but the ones serving far more customers What he would do differently if he were building Sabio from scratch today as an AI-native company Why the barrier is no longer access to the technology but whether your organisation is culturally set up to use it Why testing, tuning and optimising an AI deployment is now often a bigger job than building it Where agentic AI is genuinely useful today in customer service, and where explainability and regulation start to bite Guest Information Stuart Dorman is Chief AI Officer at Sabio Group, where he leads the company’s AI strategy and its advanced technology portfolio across contact centre, AI, data and data analytics. He has spent close to three decades working where technology meets customer experience, starting with speech applications and natural language long before generative AI made the field mainstream. Sabio is a CX consulting and technology firm specialising in AI-powered customer experience, working with technology partners including Amazon Connect, Salesforce, Genesys and Google Cloud, and with clients including British Airways, Vodafone, Marks & Spencer and DHL Express. Stuart is responsible for developing those strategic partner relationships, and is a regular speaker across the global CX circuit. He is a strong advocate for treating AI as an expansive technology rather than a cost-reduction exercise, for experimentation over long roadmaps, and for the view that the constraint on most organisations is cultural rather than technical. Connect with Stuart Dorman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartdorman/ Please note: The views expressed by the guest in this episode are their own and do not reflect those of their current or former employers. About Your Host Michael Young is the Founder & CEO of MBN Solutions and host of A Class Act. With nearly two decades of experience helping organisations build high-performing data, analytics and AI teams, he brings frontline insight into what makes exceptional talent and leadership. Connect with MBN Solutions If you are building the AI capability inside a service organisation, or working out what skills your teams actually need to make it pay, MBN partners with organisations to build data and AI teams that deliver. MBN Solutions on LinkedIn — industry updates, projects, and the latest in data, AI and analytics talent. Visit the company page here: linkedin.com/company/mbn-recruitment-solutions For questions, guest recommendations, or to connect: Email: michael@mbnsolutions.com Visit MBN Solutions at www.mbnsolutions.com Subscribe & Follow Season 3 is under way. Follow A Class Act wherever you get your podcasts and leave a review to help more listeners find these conversations.

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S3E1: What Does A Forward Deployed Engineer Actually Do? With Tom McLaughlin, Forward Deployed Engineer at The OpenAI Deployment Company

Every AI company seems to want a forward deployed engineer. Yet very few can explain what they’re actually hiring for. Tom McLaughlin was doing the job before it became one of the hottest titles in AI. He went from software engineering at JP Morgan to Tomoro, the applied AI firm OpenAI acquired in May 2026, and he’s now a forward deployed engineer at The OpenAI Deployment Company, working inside enterprise clients across the UK, Europe and the US. In this conversation, he chats to host Michael about where the FDE role came from, what a customer is really paying for when they hire one, and why so much of the value has moved from writing code to judgment, context and ownership. If you’re building an AI team, hiring into one, or still working out whether you need forward deployed engineers at all, start here. What you’ll hear: The restaurant story Palantir used to explain the whole idea and the one line the entire model rests on Why Tom thinks most companies hiring internal FDEs are answering a different question from the one they think they’re asking What the customer is actually paying for and whether one person should be carrying all three When forward deployed engineer and forward deployed strategist should be two separate jobs Can one exceptional FDE with a swarm of agents replace a team of five? Why making code cheap doesn’t remove the bottleneck The line between FDE and plain consultancy What is left for the human once agents do the implementation Tom’s picture of 2030 What to look for when hiring an FDE The one hiring mistake to avoid Guest Information Tom McLaughlin is a founding forward deployed engineer at The OpenAI Deployment Company, based in Scotland and working with enterprise clients across the UK, Europe and the US. He started out as a software engineer at JP Morgan before joining Tomoro, the applied AI consulting and engineering firm OpenAI acquired in May 2026 as the founding piece of its Deployment Company. Connect with Tom McLaughlin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aibuilder/ Please note: The views expressed by the guest in this episode are their own and do not reflect those of their current or former employers. About Your Host Michael Young is the Founder & CEO of MBN Solutions and host of A Class Act. With nearly two decades of experience helping organisations build high-performing data, analytics and AI teams, he brings frontline insight into what makes exceptional talent and leadership. Connect with MBN Solutions If you’re hiring forward deployed engineers, building an AI delivery team, or rethinking what your technical hiring process is actually screening for, MBN partners with organisations to build data and AI teams that deliver. MBN Solutions on LinkedIn — industry updates, projects, and the latest in data, AI and analytics talent. Visit the company page here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mbn-recruitment-solutions For questions, guest recommendations, or to connect: Email: michael@mbnsolutions.com Visit MBN Solutions at www.mbnsolutions.com

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Season 3 Trailer | Meet the People Building the Future of AI

Season 3 of A Class Act is here. Every breakthrough in AI begins as an idea almost nobody believes in yet. But brilliant technology doesn't change anything until it survives contact with the real world. So why do some AI products transform entire organisations while others never make it past the demo? And who are the people capable of closing that gap? This season, host Michael Young sits down with the category-defining founders, the scientists moving the field forward, and the forward deployed engineers turning breakthroughs into real-world outcomes. The decisions, the failures, the talent, and the human judgment shaping what comes next. Season 3 opens on Wednesday 16 September with Tom McLaughlin, a founding forward deployed engineer at The OpenAI Deployment Company, on the role every AI company is hiring for. Follow A Class Act wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss an episode. A Class Act is hosted by Michael Young, Founder & CEO of MBN Solutions. Email: michael@mbnsolutions.com Website: www.mbnsolutions.com

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Agentic AI in Financial Services: From Demo to Production at Scale With Stuart Bell, Head of AI & Innovation M&G

Most organisations adopting AI are bolting agentic AI onto the same old processes, then wondering why nothing actually changes. In this season 2 finale of A Class Act, Michael Young sits down with Stuart Bell, Head of AI & Innovation M&G who went from Java developer to shaping how some of the biggest regulated financial-services firms adopt agentic AI at enterprise scale. It’s a straight-talking, practical conversation about why the gap between a slick demo and real production is a strategy gap, why you should treat AI agents as products rather than one-off projects, and the question Stuart says every leader should be asking, and almost nobody is. What you’ll discover⬇️ ☑️Why starting from your existing process only ever gives you incremental AI ☑️Why the demo-to-production gap is really a strategy gap (and the three reasons slick demos die) ☑️What changes when you treat AI agents as products, not one-off projects ☑️How to reframe guardrails from risk controls into UX metrics your teams actually want to hit ☑️How to decide what to actually build when every business unit swears their use case comes first ☑️The value-vs-complexity and risk-vs-reuse framework Stuart uses ☑️Why experimenting up front and benchmarking models protects you when the model underneath changes ☑️What “responsible AI” really looks like when it’s working ☑️Why governance done right lets you move faster, not slower ☑️Stuart’s closing advice for any leader who wants to build agentic AI capability Guest Information⬇️ Stuart Bell is Head of AI & Innovation at M&G, a senior AI leader shaping how large, regulated financial-services organisations adopt agentic AI at enterprise scale. He began his career as a Java developer before moving through software architecture into CTO positions across private-equity-backed and venture-backed businesses as well as large corporates, including a spell at Sky over a decade ago. Today he focuses on getting agentic AI out of the demo and into production, safely, inside a regulated environment. Connect with Stuart Bell on LinkedIn⬇️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuart-bell-a355283/ Please note: The views expressed by the guest in this episode are their own and do not reflect those of their current or former employers. About Your Host ⬇️ Michael Young is the Founder & CEO of MBN Solutions and host of A Class Act: Conversations in Data & Leadership. With nearly two decades of experience helping organisations build high-performing data, analytics, and AI teams, he brings frontline insight into what makes exceptional talent and leadership. Connect with MBN Solutions If you’re hiring for data or AI leadership roles, scaling AI capability, or rethinking how talent supports your AI strategy, the team at MBN partners with organisations to build data and AI teams that actually deliver. MBN Solutions on LinkedIn ⬇️ Explore industry updates, groundbreaking projects, and the latest in data and analytics talent. Join the conversation and discover how MBN Solutions is shaping the future of data leadership. Visit the company page here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mbn-recruitment-solutions/ For questions, guest recommendations, or to connect: Email: michael@mbnsolutions.com Visit MBN Solutions website at www.mbnsolutions.com Subscribe & Follow⬇️ Enjoying the series? Don’t miss an episode. Follow A Class Act wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review to help more listeners discover these conversations in data and leadership.

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A Look Inside How OpenAI Deploys Enterprise AI With Stuart McMeechan, EMEA Deployment Engineering Leader at OpenAI

In this episode of A Class Act, Michael Young sits down with Stuart McMeechan, EMEA Deployment Engineering Leader at OpenAI. Stuart leads the team that OpenAI sends into the biggest enterprises in Europe to help them get AI into production and he’s seen first-hand why most never make it past the pilot. In this conversation, they get into👇 ☑️ What OpenAI’s AI deployment engineering team actually does and the two objectives behind every project ☑️ The three types of customer OpenAI works with ☑️ The difference between organisations actually scaling enterprise AI versus those staying stuck in experimentation ☑️ What’s really blocking the move from pilot to production (most of it isn’t technical) ☑️ What separates organisations genuinely ready for AI from those just experimenting ☑️ The culture changes required to make AI implementation actually work and how to find the “wizards” already driving AI inside your teams ☑️ Where humans stay irreplaceable, and how roles are already being redrawn ☑️ Is AI moving faster than organisations can adapt? ☑️ Why OpenAI’s release cadence went from 15 months to six weeks and what that means for planning Guest Information👇 Stuart McMeechan is EMEA Deployment Engineering Leader at OpenAI, where he leads a team of AI architects and engineers helping Europe’s largest enterprises adopt AI at scale. His team works directly with organisations to define AI strategy, design target architectures, build implementation approaches, and develop evaluation frameworks - turning OpenAI’s capabilities into real business impact. Connect with Stuart McMeechan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartmcmeechan/ Please note: The views expressed by the guest in this episode are their own and do not reflect those of their current or former employers. About Your Host👇 Michael Young is the Founder & CEO of MBN Solutions and host of A Class Act: Conversations in Data & Leadership. With nearly two decades of experience helping organisations build high-performing data, analytics, and AI teams, he brings frontline insight into what makes exceptional talent and leadership. Connect with MBN Solutions👇 If you’re hiring for data or AI leadership roles, scaling AI capability, or rethinking how talent supports your AI strategy, the team at MBN partners with organisations to build data and AI teams that actually deliver. Visit MBN Solutions website at www.mbnsolutions.com MBN Solutions on LinkedIn – Join the conversation and discover how MBN Solutions is shaping the future of data leadership. Visit the company page here: linkedin.com/company/mbn-recruitment-solutions For questions, guest recommendations, or to connect: Email: michael@mbnsolutions.com Subscribe & Follow👇 Enjoying the series? Don’t miss an episode. Follow A Class Act wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review to help more listeners discover these conversations in data and leadership.

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The AI Leader’s Playbook for What Actually Works With Andy McMahon, Director of AI & MLOps Engineering at Barclays

In this episode of A Class Act, Michael sits down with Andy McMahon, Director of AI & MLOps Engineering at Barclays, Oxford lecturer, and author of Machine Learning Engineering with Python. Andy went from a physics PhD at Imperial College to leading AI engineering at one of the world’s largest banks, and he’s got a sharp take on why most AI never makes it out of the demo. In this conversation, they get into⬇️ ✔️Why the gap between AI that demos well and AI that works in production has never been wider ✔️The 'trust infrastructure' most teams skip and why Andy calls them zero-regret investments ✔️What changed when AI engineering replaced MLOps as the paradigm and what stayed exactly the same ✔️How to spot genuinely good AI talent ✔️Why imposter syndrome is a signal you're in the right place ✔️The shift from data science to AI engineering and what that means for hiring and team structure ✔️Andy's take on what people are getting wrong about AI right now ✔️Responsible AI in practice: how to make it real and not a tick-box exercise ✔️Building a career portfolio that outlasts any single role Guest Information Andy McMahon is Director of AI & MLOps Engineering at Barclays, where he leads teams building production-grade AI systems across the bank. He holds a PhD in theoretical physics from Imperial College London and is the author of Machine Learning Engineering with Python (Packt), now writing the third edition — a rewrite shifting focus from MLOps to AI engineering. Andy lectures at the University of Oxford, has been named one of Computing Magazine's Top 100 Leaders in IT (2026), and co-writes Forward Deploy, a Substack on practical AI engineering with Matthew Higgs. Connect with Andy McMahon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-mcmahon/ Read Forward Deploy on Substack: Forward Deploy Substack Paper mentioned: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6843118 Podcast - https://linktr.ee/airightpodcast Please note: The views expressed by the guest in this episode are their own and do not reflect those of their current or former employers. About Your Host Michael Young is the Managing Director of MBN Solutions and host of A Class Act: Conversations in Data & Leadership. With nearly two decades of experience helping organisations build high-performing data, analytics, and AI teams, he brings frontline insight into what makes exceptional talent and leadership. Subscribe & Follow Enjoying the series? Don’t miss an episode. Follow A Class Act wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review to help more listeners discover these conversations in data and leadership. Connect with MBN Solutions If you’re hiring for data or AI leadership roles, scaling AI capability, or rethinking how talent supports your AI strategy, the team at MBN partners with organisations to build data and AI teams that actually deliver. MBN Solutions on LinkedIn – Explore industry updates, groundbreaking projects, and the latest in data and analytics talent. Visit the company page here: linkedin.com/company/mbn-recruitment-solutions For questions, guest recommendations, or to connect: Email: michael@mbnsolutions.com Visit MBN Solutions website at www.mbnsolutions.com

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The One Skill That Separates Good Data Leaders From Great Ones With Asia Faulds - Head of Data Science at Booksy

If you run a data team, you already know that the hardest part of being a great data leader isn’t always the technology. In this episode of A Class Act, host Michael Young chats with Asia Faulds, Head of Data Science at Booksy. Asia has built data science teams from the ground up at the BBC, Trustpilot, and now Booksy, and she’s seen first-hand why brilliant technical teams still fail when prioritisation breaks down. In this conversation, they get into: Why most data teams don’t fail technically What it’s actually like building a data science function from zero at Booksy How Gen AI has expanded the scope of the data science role and what hasn’t changed Why producing 200 dashboards instead of 2 doesn’t mean your team is more productive The difference between activity and progress, and how to tell which one your team is doing Why sometimes a well-written SQL script beats a neural network How to protect your team’s energy and focus as a data leader The one thing Asia says every listener should do this week Guest Information Asia Faulds is Head of Data Science at Booksy, the two-sided marketplace connecting beauty and wellness providers with consumers. She’s building the company’s first data science and applied AI function from scratch, defining the strategy, hiring the team, and establishing ML infrastructure. Before Booksy, Asia spent five years at Trustpilot, progressing from individual contributor to management across product and go-to-market data science. Before that, she built recommendation engines for BBC Sounds at the BBC. She holds a Master’s in Physics from the University of Edinburgh and writes The Data Pragmatist on Medium. Connect with Asia Faulds on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asia-data/ Read The Data Pragmatist on Medium: medium.com/@thedatapragmatist About Your Host Michael Young is the Managing Director of MBN Solutions and host of A Class Act: Conversations in Data & Leadership. With nearly two decades of experience helping organisations build high-performing data, analytics, and AI teams, he brings frontline insight into what makes exceptional talent and leadership. Please note: The views expressed by the guest in this episode are their own and do not reflect those of their current or former employers. Subscribe & Follow Enjoying the series? Don’t miss an episode. Follow A Class Act wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review to help more listeners discover these conversations in data and leadership. Connect with MBN Solutions If you’re hiring for data or AI leadership roles, scaling AI capability, or rethinking how talent supports your AI strategy, the team at MBN partners with organisations to build data and AI teams that actually deliver. MBN Solutions on LinkedIn – Explore industry updates, groundbreaking projects, and the latest in data and analytics talent. Join the conversation and discover how MBN Solutions is shaping the future of data leadership. Visit the company page here. For questions, guest recommendations, or to connect: Email: michael@mbnsolutions.com Visit MBN Solutions website at www.mbnsolutions.com

Building the Future of Voice AI From Soundtracks to Synthetic Speech With Stu Kennedy, Edge, Realtime & AI Systems Consultant

In this episode of A Class Act, Michael chats with Stu Kennedy, an Edge, Realtime & AI Systems Consultant, core HTMX contributor, and former film composer who worked alongside David Arnold on the Chronicles of Narnia and BBC’s Sherlock. Today, Stu builds real-time voice AI pipelines, contributes to the WebSocket layer in HTMX 4, and has helped companies like Anam and Pyannote push the boundaries of streaming diarisation and video avatars. In this conversation, they get into: ✔ How a career in maths, music, and film led to building production voice AI systems ✔ Why voice AI is fundamentally an audio problem before it’s an ML one ✔ Why platforms like VAPI, OpenAI Realtime, and others break outside demo ✔ How Stu cut ASR latency from two seconds to 350 milliseconds ✔ Why a single senior engineer with the right tools can now outship a six-month procurement cycle ✔ LLMs and the parallels between constraining a model and constraining an orchestra ✔ An experiment where professional composers couldn’t tell a real orchestral recording from a fake one and what that really means for AI adoption ✔ A real benchmark for production readiness Guest Information Stu Kennedy is an Edge, Realtime & AI Systems Consultant specialising in Cloudflare-native, real-time, and AI-driven platforms. He has spent 25 years at the intersection of mathematics, music, and software, from a PhD in fluid mechanics and chaos theory to composing for film alongside David Arnold (James Bond, Narnia, Sherlock), to building music technology platforms, and now engineering production voice AI pipelines. He is a core contributor to HTMX, building the WebSocket implementation for HTMX 4, and has worked with companies including Anam (real-time video avatars) and Pyannote (streaming diarization). Stu has also built products including Callwell, a real-time AI sales call assistant, and Medascend, an AI-powered medical training platform built with students from Dundee University. He operates via his Ltd company on scoped, outcome-based engagements. Connect with Stu Kennedy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stu-kennedy/ Website: https://stukennedy.com Also built: html.surf About Your Host Michael Young is the Managing Director of MBN Solutions and host of A Class Act: Conversations in Data & Leadership. With nearly two decades of experience helping organisations build high-performing data, analytics, and AI teams, he brings frontline insight into what makes exceptional talent and leadership. Please note: The views expressed by the guest in this episode are their own and do not reflect those of their current or former employers. Subscribe & Follow Enjoying the series? Don’t miss an episode. Follow A Class Act wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review to help more listeners discover these conversations in data and leadership. Connect with MBN Solutions If you’re hiring for data or AI leadership roles, scaling AI capability, or rethinking how talent supports your AI strategy, the team at MBN partners with organisations to build data and AI teams that actually deliver. MBN Solutions on LinkedIn – Explore industry updates, groundbreaking projects, and the latest in data and analytics talent. Join the conversation and discover how MBN Solutions is shaping the future of data leadership. Visit the company page here. For questions, guest recommendations, or to connect: Email: michael@mbnsolutions.com Visit MBN Solutions website at www.mbnsolutions.com

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The 4 Pillars of AI Adoption Strategy EVERY Enterprise Leader Needs with Lead Enterprise Architect at NatWest Group

If 99% of executives say their AI rollout isn’t mature, so what’s actually going wrong? In this episode of A Class Act, Michael chats with Natalia Konstantinova, Lead Enterprise Architect in AI at NatWest Group. Natalia holds a PhD in Computational Linguistics and has spent her career at the intersection of AI research and enterprise delivery, including leading AI strategy at BP before joining NatWest. In this conversation, they get into👇 ✔ Why only 1% of executives describe their AI rollout as mature ✔ Natalia’s four pillars of AI adoption ✔ Why governance is critical and what good governance actually looks like ✔ Why less than one in five organisations are tracking KPIs for their AI solutions and what to measure instead ✔ The biggest barriers to AI adoption and why they’re not technical ✔ What good AI leadership actually looks like and hiring challenges leaders face ✔ Why hiring one person and expecting them to solve everything doesn’t work ✔ One concrete action a leader should take this week Guest Information👇 Natalia Konstantinova is a Lead Enterprise Architect in AI at NatWest Group. She holds a PhD in Computational Linguistics from the Research Institute in Information and Language Processing (RIILP) and brings deep expertise across NLP, machine translation, information extraction, dialogue systems, and data analytics. Connect with Natalia Konstantinova on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nkonst/ About Your Host👇 Michael Young is the Managing Director of MBN Solutions and host of A Class Act: Conversations in Data & Leadership. With nearly two decades of experience helping organisations build high-performing data, analytics, and AI teams, he brings frontline insight into what makes exceptional talent and leadership. Please note: The views expressed by the guest in this episode are their own and do not reflect those of their current or former employers. Subscribe & Follow👇 Enjoying the series? Don’t miss an episode. Follow A Class Act wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review to help more listeners discover these conversations in data and leadership. Connect with MBN Solutions If you’re hiring for data or AI leadership roles, scaling AI capability, or rethinking how talent supports your AI strategy, the team at MBN partners with organisations to build data and AI teams that actually deliver. MBN Solutions on LinkedIn – Explore industry updates, groundbreaking projects, and the latest in data and analytics talent. Join the conversation and discover how MBN Solutions is shaping the future of data leadership For questions, guest recommendations, or to connect: Email: michael@mbnsolutions.com Visit MBN Solutions website at www.mbnsolutions.com

S2E8: Nina Habicht [ Top 100 Women in Data & AI ] on the AI Funding Bubble & Founder Advice on Building AI that Lasts

Nina Habicht has been building AI since 2011 and is one of Switzerland's Top 100 Women in Data and AI. In this conversation with Michael of MBN Solutions, she's direct about what she actually thinks about why so much AI being built right now feels disposable, why the funding bubble is coming even if the technology bubble isn't and why generalist AI startups don't have an easy road ahead. In this episode, Nina shares: Why so much AI being built right now feels easy to copy and hard to defend Why she believes the funding bubble may come before any technology bubble What she would avoid building today, even if it looks popular or fundable Why domain depth matters more than generic AI capability What founders should stop doing if they feel overwhelmed by the speed of AI change Why under-digitised, less fashionable sectors may hold the biggest opportunity The new AI roles she believes are coming next from agent controllers to ethical AI leadership Guest information Nina Habicht is the Founder and CEO of dreamleap, an Agentic AI tech company with AI consultancy and an own training academy based in Zurich, and one of Switzerland’s Top 100 Women in Data and AI. Across her career, she has built AI systems into production in multiple industries, including one of the first voice assistants for the Swiss federal train system and Swisscom. Dreamleap is her third venture, starting as a training business and evolving into both a training and technology company. Today, the company trains around four companies a week, employs 12 people, and is based in Zurich. Connect with Nina Habicht on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nina-habicht-%F0%9F%AA%84%F0%9F%91%80-b840a553/ Connect with dreamleap: (1) dreamleap: Übersicht | LinkedIn Visit dreamleap Agentic Factory: www.dreamleap.com Visit dreamleap’s Applied Academy: www.voicetechhub.com (powered by dreamleap) About Your Host Michael Young is the Managing Director of MBN Solutions and host of A Class Act: Conversations in Data & Leadership. With nearly two decades of experience helping organisations build high-performing data, analytics, and AI teams, he brings frontline insight into what makes exceptional talent and leadership. Please note: The views expressed by the guest in this episode are their own and do not reflect those of their current or former employers. Subscribe & Follow: Enjoying the series? Don’t miss an episode. Follow A Class Act wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review to help more listeners discover these conversations in data and leadership. Connect with MBN Solutions: If you’re hiring for data or AI leadership roles, scaling AI capability, or rethinking how talent supports your AI strategy, the team at NBN partners with organisations to build data and AI teams that actually deliver. MBN Solutions on LinkedIn: Explore industry updates, groundbreaking projects, and the latest in data and analytics talent. Join the conversation and discover how MBN Solutions is shaping the future of data leadership. Visit the company page here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mbn-recruitment-solutions For questions, guest recommendations, or to connect: Email: michael@mbnsolutions.com Visit MBN Solutions website at www.mbnsolutions.com

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S2E7: Navigating AI Ethics in the Real World: Red Lines & Risk Tiers in Practice

AI is moving fast. Most organisations are trying to keep up. But the real question isn’t “should we use it?” anymore, it’s whether you can deploy it without creating risks you can’t explain later. In this episode, Michael Young is joined by Jeff Watkins (former CTO, fractional Chief AI Officer / advisor) to get specific about what “responsible AI” looks like in practice. Michael asks Jeff: What does responsible AI look like day-to-day as a way teams make decisions, not a set of statements? Where do you draw red lines (what you won’t do with AI) and who has the authority to stop a deployment? How do you triage Gen AI use cases using a simple risk-tier approach (green/amber/red) so governance supports delivery? What does evidence actually look like and how do you prove controls are working in real operations? When AI causes harm, who owns the decision and what does accountability mean in practice? Guest information Jeff Watkins is a CTO and AI strategist with 25+ years of experience leading digital and AI transformation. Former CTO at CreateFuture, he led AI Enablement and now advises boards and delivery teams on secure, responsible GenAI, where AI, security, governance, and culture collide. Connect with Jeff Watkins on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-watkins-cto/ About Your Host: Michael Young is the Managing Director of MBN Solutions and host of A Class Act: Conversations in Data & Leadership. With nearly two decades of experience helping organisations build high-performing data, analytics, and AI teams, he brings frontline insight into what makes exceptional talent and leadership. Please note: The views expressed by the guest in this episode are their own and do not reflect those of their current or former employers. Subscribe & Follow: Enjoying the series? Don’t miss an episode. Follow A Class Act wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review to help more listeners discover these conversations in data and leadership. Connect with MBN Solutions: If you’re hiring for data or AI leadership roles, scaling AI capability, or rethinking how talent supports your AI strategy, the team at NBN partners with organisations to build data and AI teams that actually deliver. MBN Solutions on LinkedIn – Explore industry updates, groundbreaking projects, and the latest in data and analytics talent. Join the conversation and discover how MBN Solutions is shaping the future of data leadership. Visit the company page here. Visit MBN Solutions website at www.mbnsolutions.com

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LLMs in 2026: What’s Happening and What It Means for Business With Richard Bownes, Head of AI Solutions at Vector8

What’s actually happening with LLMs in 2026 and what does it mean for business leaders? In this episode of A Class Act, Michael is joined by Richard Bownes, Head of AI Solutions at Vector8, for a discussion on how large language models are evolving and why the biggest shift isn’t capability, but consistency, reliability, and system design. Rather than chasing the next capability jump, Richard explains why we’re seeing a slowdown in headline performance gains alongside an improvement in consistency and reliability. In this conversation, Richard shares: What's really happening with LLM development right now in 2026 Why the enterprise production lens matters: the trade-off between brilliant but unstable outputs and reliable, predictable systems. Richard’s practical map of the stack: naked LLM calls → workflows → tool calling → MCP servers → agent skills (and what each step is designed to solve) “Stateful” AI explained clearly The organisational gap Richard flags as adoption scales that leaders must be aware of right now Guest information Richard Bownes is Head of AI Solutions at Vector8, where he helps organisations design and deploy practical AI systems that move beyond experimentation into real-world business impact. He’s worked across public and private sector environments, bridging strategy, delivery, and real-world implementation. His experience spans Voice AI systems, applied NLP, and the ethical considerations that come with deploying machine learning at scale. Connect with Richard Bownes on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rjbownes/ About Your Host: Michael Young is the Managing Director of MBN Solutions and host of A Class Act: Conversations in Data & Leadership. With nearly two decades of experience helping organisations build high-performing data, analytics, and AI teams, he brings frontline insight into what makes exceptional talent and leadership. Please note: The views expressed by the guest in this episode are their own and do not reflect those of their current or former employers. Subscribe & Follow: Enjoying the series? Don’t miss an episode. Follow A Class Act wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review to help more listeners discover these conversations in data and leadership. Connect with MBN Solutions: If you’re hiring for data or AI leadership roles, scaling AI capability, or rethinking how talent supports your AI strategy, the team at NBN partners with organisations to build data and AI teams that actually deliver. MBN Solutions on LinkedIn – Explore industry updates, groundbreaking projects, and the latest in data and analytics talent. Join the conversation and discover how MBN Solutions is shaping the future of data leadership. Visit the company page here : https://www.linkedin.com/company/mbn-recruitment-solutions For questions, guest recommendations, or to connect: Email: michael@mbnsolutions.com Visit MBN Solutions website at www.mbnsolutions.com

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What Enterprise AI Really Looks Like in Practice Inside One of The UK’s Most Regulated Digital Banks With Russell Collingham, Head of AI at Atom

What if you could sit down with the Head of AI inside one of the UK’s most regulated digital banks and hear the truth about what actually works and what leaders need to get right? That’s exactly what we explore in this episode of A Class Act. Shannon is joined by Dr. Russell Collingham, Head of AI & Data Science at Atom Bank, and one of the most experienced AI leaders in UK financial services. Russell has worked in AI since the 1990s. He began his career as a lecturer and researcher in AI at Durham University, before moving into industry where he led engineering teams, served as AI Practice Lead at Hedgehog Lab, and now guides AI strategy inside a live, highly regulated banking environment. In this conversation, Russell shares: How Atom Bank is using AI to automate back-office processes and remove manual, repetitive work Why AI adoption must start in “safe spaces” before becoming customer-facing The real risks of generative AI in regulated environments Why enterprise AI success depends more on operating models, governance, and people than on tools How the role of an “AI Champion” accelerated adoption across the organisation What the future of AI in banking could look like from embedded systems to personalised financial education If you’re a CEO or responsible for shaping AI strategy where reputation, risk, and trust matter, this episode offers practical insight into what enterprise AI really looks like in practice. Guest information Dr. Russell Collingham is Head of AI & Data Science at Atom Bank and one of the most experienced AI leaders in UK financial services. He has worked in artificial intelligence since the 1990s, spanning academia and industry, and now leads AI strategy inside a highly regulated digital banking environment. Connect with Russell Collingham on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russellcollingham/ About Your Host Shannon McKechnie is the Managing Director at MBN Solutions - the Data and AI talent experts, and a passionate advocate for building exceptional teams and authentic leadership. As co-host of A Class Act: Conversations in Data & Leadership, Shannon brings a grounded, people-first perspective to leadership ,exploring how trust, alignment, and shared success drive high-performing teams in today’s complex landscape. Please note: The views expressed by the guest in this episode are their own and do not reflect those of their current or former employers. Subscribe & Follow: Enjoying the series? Don’t miss an episode. Follow A Class Act wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review to help more listeners discover these conversations in data and leadership. Connect with MBN Solutions: If you’re hiring for data or AI leadership roles, scaling AI capability, or rethinking how talent supports your AI strategy, the team at NBN partners with organisations to build data and AI teams that actually deliver. MBN Solutions on LinkedIn – Explore industry updates, groundbreaking projects, and the latest in data and analytics talent. Join the conversation and discover how MBN Solutions is shaping the future of data leadership. Visit the company page here. For questions, guest recommendations, or to connect: Email: shannon@mbnsolutions.com Visit MBN Solutions website at www.mbnsolutions.com

Hiring and Building Exceptional Applied AI Teams that Work with Andre Balleyguier of Snorkel AI [MUST LISTEN]

In this episode of A Class Act, Michael Young, CEO of MBN Solutions speaks with Andre Balleyguier, AI Solutions Leader at Snorkel AI, formerly at DataRobot, and recognised by DataIQ as one of the UK’s most influential figures in data and AI. Andre has spent around fifteen years working with data and more than a decade in applied AI. Today, he leads global AI solutions engineering at Snorkel AI, helping major organisations deliver end-to-end applied AI systems using technologies such as agents and retrieval-augmented generation. Across the episode, Michael and Andre explore what it really takes to hire and build AI teams that work in practice and what leaders should pay attention to if they want AI systems that are trusted, adopted and production-grade. You’ll hear: How Andre moved from engineering, maths and finance into early applied AI and machine learning. What it was like joining DataRobot at Series A, becoming the first technical hire in EMEA and then growing the technical organisation The biggest lesson he learned the hard way about building applied AI teams How the AI landscape has shifted from classic machine learning and “big data” to today’s GenAI and agent-based systems Why Andre is cautious about generic AI agents and what to focus on instead How a telco’s GenAI billing assistant went from roughly 54% to about 95% correct The ICCE hiring framework he uses and why he now refuses to compromise on coachability and character, even for very strong technical candidates. Practical guidance for data, digital and AI leaders on where to focus over the next few years Guest information Connect with Andre Balleyguier on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aballeyguier/?locale=en_US Learn more about Snorkel AI: snorkel.ai About Your Host: Michael Young is the Managing Director of MBN Solutions and host of A Class Act: Conversations in Data & Leadership. With nearly two decades of experience helping organisations build high-performing data, analytics, and AI teams, he brings frontline insight into what makes exceptional talent and leadership. Please note: The views expressed by the guest in this episode are their own and do not reflect those of their current or former employers. Subscribe & Follow: Enjoying the series? Don’t miss an episode. Follow A Class Act wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review to help more listeners discover these conversations in data and leadership. Connect with MBN Solutions: MBN Solutions on LinkedIn – Explore industry updates, groundbreaking projects, and the latest in data and analytics talent. Join the conversation and discover how MBN Solutions is shaping the future of data leadership. Visit the company page here. For questions, guest recommendations, or to connect: Email: michael@mbnsolutions.com Visit MBN Solutions website at www.mbnsolutions.com

Why Most Enterprise AI Strategies Fail And What to Do Instead with Eddie Short - Global Chief Digital, Data & AI Officer

Most enterprise AI strategies fail not because the technology isn’t ready, but because organisations are still operating with 20th-century models. In this episode, Global Chief Digital, Data & AI Officer Eddie Short breaks down what’s really going wrong, and what leaders must do instead to build AI into the DNA of their organisations. With over 30 years of experience as a Fortune 1000 CTO/CDO, Big Four partner, and transformation leader across telecoms, retail, FMCG, healthcare and private equity, Eddie has helped global organisations embed AI at scale, redesign operating models, and drive step-change performance. This is a direct conversation about what actually moves the needle in enterprise AI adoption. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN: Why most enterprise AI strategies fail Why bolt-on approach never works (and what built-in AI means) How to architect an AI-enabled organisation Why use-cases are outdated thinking Why AI success is 70% reinvention of work, 20% data & tech, 10% algorithms How to move from backward-looking to predictive-by-design The new talent model: hybrid, fractional, capability-based Real examples from telecoms,healthcare, retail, FMCG, and private equity CONNECT WITH EDDIE SHORT LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddie-short-0b683a/ WORK WITH MBN SOLUTIONS If you’re building AI, data or engineering capability or redesigning your operating model , MBN helps organisations hire better, move faster, and build world-class teams. 🔗 Follow MBN Solutions on LinkedIn: Explore industry updates, groundbreaking projects, and the latest in data and analytics talent. Join the conversation and discover how MBN Solutions is shaping the future of data leadership. Visit the company page here. 📩 For questions, guest recommendations, or to connect: Email: michael@mbnsolutions.com Visit MBN Solutions website: www.mbnsolutions.com If you enjoyed this conversation with Eddie Short, make sure you: 👉 Follow the podcast 👉 Leave a comment with your biggest takeaway 👉 Share this with a colleague working in AI, data or transformation Please note: The views expressed by the guest in this episode are their own and do not reflect those of their current or former employers.

Hiring for AI in 2026? What the Next Generation of Talent Actually Values with Google DeepMind Scholar Emma Rattray

Every organisation is racing to adopt AI but capability isn’t just about technology. It’s about people. In this episode, host Shannon speaks with Emma Rattray, an AI Engineer whose journey from chemical engineering to software development and AI research offers an honest look at what the next generation of AI talent truly values and how forward-thinking leaders can attract and retain it. After earning a fully funded scholarship for her master’s in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Edinburgh, Emma has become one of the most insightful emerging voices in the UK AI space. Through roles at Procter & Gamble, IBM, and JP Morgan, and her current work in robotics and computer vision, she has seen how technical excellence and human leadership intertwine. In this conversation, Emma and Shannon explore how young professionals are navigating a world where AI progress moves faster than workforce readiness. You’ll hear: How Emma pivoted from chemical engineering into AI without a computer-science degree. The “magic combo” of skills that makes today’s AI professionals stand out: strong software fundamentals plus applied ML and data-science experience. Why learning in public and sharing work, experiments and reflections online builds visibility, confidence and opportunity. 3 Key Insights Emma learned inside major organisations Procter & Gamble, JP Morgan and IBM. How her research into robotics perception in cluttered environments shows why messy, real-world data drives real progress. Why confidence and adaptability have become essential skills for anyone working with fast-moving technology. What early-career AI talent now looks for in employers: supportive cultures, genuine learning environments, and leaders who communicate with clarity and care. Guest Information: Connect with Emma Rattray on Linkedin About Your Host: Shannon McKechnie is the Managing Director at MBN Solutions - the Data and AI talent experts, and a passionate advocate for building exceptional teams and authentic leadership. As co-host of A Class Act: Conversations in Data & Leadership, Shannon brings a grounded, people-first perspective to leadership ,exploring how trust, alignment, and shared success drive high-performing teams in today’s complex landscape. Please note: The views expressed by the guest in this episode are their own and do not reflect those of their current or former employers. Subscribe & Follow: Enjoying the series? Don’t miss an episode. Follow A Class Act wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review to help more listeners discover these conversations in data and leadership. Connect with MBN Solutions: MBN Solutions on LinkedIn – Explore industry updates, groundbreaking projects, and the latest in data and analytics talent. Join the conversation and discover how MBN Solutions is shaping the future of data leadership. Visit the company page here. For questions, guest recommendations, or to connect: Email: michael@mbnsolutions.com Visit MBN Solutions website at www.mbnsolutions.com

Season 2: Navigating the AI Landscape

I’ve been in this market for nearly 20 years and in that time, I’ve helped place over 4,000 senior leaders in data, analytics, and AI roles around the world from the dot com boom to big data. What I’ve learned is this: technology isn’t the hard part. Leadership and implementation is. That’s why we’re back with Season 2 of A Class Act, and this time, we’re calling it Navigating the AI Landscape - because right now, it really does feel like uncharted territory. In this season, you’ll hear real stories from founders, engineers and executives who are actually in it, the ones leading AI change inside their organisations today. We’ll talk about: What’s really working (and what’s not). How leaders are embedding AI into their businesses right now. And the skills and mindset you’ll need to lead and hire effectively in this new landscape. If you’re sitting in the boardroom wondering what you should be doing about AI, this season is for you. 🎧 Subscribe now and join us as we explore how to turn AI from buzzword to business results.

Turning AI from Buzzword into Real Business Results with Tom McLaughlin of Tomoro

What if you could sit down with an engineer who’s building AI partnerships alongside the top companies shaping the future like OpenAI, NVIDIA, and Microsoft? That’s exactly what we’re doing today. In this Season 2 opener, host Michael Young sits down with Tom McLaughlin, Forward Deployed Engineer at Tomoro. Their partnerships with the pioneers behind the world’s most powerful models mean clients get early access and deep integrations that keep them months ahead of the curve. Tom’s journey has taken him from Computer Science at Strathclyde, through J.P. Morgan, to founding his own AI consultancy and now to helping some of the world’s biggest organisations turn AI from buzzword into business results. In this conversation, we ask the question: How do you actually make AI work in practice? You’ll hear: How Tomoro’s Strategy → Solution → Scale framework takes AI from idea to impact. What it’s like to build alongside OpenAI on enterprise projects. Lessons from Supercell on shipping production-ready AI safely. Why embedding engineers with client teams accelerates success. The leadership, mindset and cultural changes needed to actually make AI work. If you lead Data, Digital, or AI strategy and want to understand how to move from experimentation to execution, this conversation offers practical insight from someone who’s in the trenches. Guest Information: Connect with Tom McLaughlin on Linkedin Discover Tomoro About Your Host: Michael Young is the Managing Director of MBN Solutions and host of A Class Act: Conversations in Data & Leadership. With nearly two decades of experience helping organisations build high-performing data, analytics, and AI teams, he brings frontline insight into what makes exceptional talent and leadership. Please note: The views expressed by the guest in this episode are their own and do not reflect those of their current or former employers. Subscribe & Follow: Enjoying the series? Don’t miss an episode. Follow A Class Act wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review to help more listeners discover these conversations in data and leadership. Connect with MBN Solutions: MBN Solutions on LinkedIn – Explore industry updates, groundbreaking projects, and the latest in data and analytics talent. Join the conversation and discover how MBN Solutions is shaping the future of data leadership. Visit the company page here. For questions, guest recommendations, or to connect: Email: michael@mbnsolutions.com Visit MBN Solutions website at www.mbnsolutions.com

How to Build Trust & Lead Teams in FinTech’s AI Era with Kent Mackenzie

In this episode, host Michael is joined by Kent Mackenzie, Group Chief Operating Officer at Corlytics and former Deloitte Partner. Kent’s career has taken him from pulling apart ATMs as a curious young technologist, to leading Deloitte’s global FinTech and RegTech practice, and now to scaling one of the leading names in regulatory technology. You’ll hear: Why “you don’t need to have all the answers” is one of the most powerful leadership lessons Kent’s framework for building high-performing teams: trust, competence, and psychological safety The biggest mistakes leaders make when scaling FinTech and RegTech solutions The hard calls he’s made, from retraining staff to steering business exits Why “it is AI” that will reshape SaaS and demand new human-centric leadership skills Kent also shares his personal philosophy - from Stoic ideas like amor fati (“love your fate”) to simple rituals like Sunday pancakes - that keep him grounded while leading through complexity. If you’re leading teams in FinTech, data, or AI, this episode offers practical strategies and honest reflections on what it really takes to lead through change. Connect with Kent MacKenzie on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kent-mackenzie-b807685/ About Your Host: Michael Young is the Managing Director of MBN Solutions and host of A Class Act: Conversations in Data & Leadership. With nearly two decades of experience helping organisations build high-performing data, analytics, and AI teams, he brings frontline insight into what makes exceptional talent and leadership. Please note: The views expressed by the guest in this episode are their own and do not reflect those of their current or former employers. Subscribe & Follow: Enjoying the series? Don’t miss an episode. Follow A Class Act wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review to help more listeners discover these conversations in data and leadership. Connect with MBN Solutions: Michael Young on LinkedIn – Follow Michael for advice on talent acquisition, leadership in data science, and stories from the front lines of tech recruitment. Connect with Michael here. MBN Solutions on LinkedIn – Explore industry updates, groundbreaking projects, and the latest in data and analytics talent. Join the conversation and discover how MBN Solutions is shaping the future of data leadership. Visit the company page here. For questions, guest recommendations, or to connect: Email: michael@mbnsolutions.com Visit MBN Solutions website at www.mbnsolutions.com

AI and Leadership Lessons from Being 10 Years Ahead with BloxWeaver Founder David Meikle

What can AI teach us about leadership when you’re a decade ahead of the curve? In this episode of A Class Act: Conversations in Data and Leadership, host Shannon speaks with David Meikle, founder of BloxWeaver and former CTO at Lingo24. David reflects on the leadership lessons he learned introducing AI and automation into the translation industry nearly ten years before most businesses began facing the same challenges. From the fear of job loss to the need for psychological safety, David shares how leaders can guide teams through uncertainty, transformation, and growth. You’ll discover: How to lead teams through fear of AI and show its value. Why psychological safety is essential for innovation and high performance. How David rebuilt trust after leading a restructure early in his career. The leadership principles behind scaling from 12% to 98% online orders in a year. Why patience, adaptability, and strengths-based leadership matter most in change. If you’re leading in data, technology, or any fast-moving industry, this conversation offers practical insights to help you build trust and unlock performance in the AI and tech industry. Connect with David Meikle on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davemeikle/ Discover BloxWeaver: https://bloxweaver.com/ About Your Host: Shannon McKechnie is the Managing Director at MBN Solutions - the Data and AI talent experts, and a passionate advocate for building exceptional teams and authentic leadership. As co-host of A Class Act: Conversations in Data & Leadership, Shannon brings a grounded, people-first perspective to leadership ,exploring how trust, alignment, and shared success drive high-performing teams in today’s complex landscape. Please note: The views expressed by the guest in this episode are their own and do not reflect those of their current or former employers. Subscribe & Follow: Enjoying the series? Don’t miss an episode. Follow A Class Act wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review to help more listeners discover these conversations in data and leadership. Connect with MBN Solutions: Shannon McKechnie on LinkedIn – Follow Shannon for advice on talent acquisition, leadership in data science, and stories from the front lines of tech recruitment. Connect with Shannon here. MBN Solutions on LinkedIn – Explore industry updates, groundbreaking projects, and the latest in data and analytics talent. Join the conversation and discover how MBN Solutions is shaping the future of data leadership. Visit the company page here. For questions, guest recommendations, or to connect: Email: michael@mbnsolutions.com Visit MBN Solutions website at www.mbnsolutions.com