First Person, with Matt Egan

Ep 22: Cameron Clarke - Co-Founder and CEO - Sunderstorm

We meet Cameron Clarke who explains how he studied computing after being inspired by early PCs, but immediately pivoted into industry where his software engineering skills could be put to immediate, practical use. Through explaining his career and experiences Cameron imparts incredible wisdom hard won through success and failure. He tells us how he finds himself today combining an obsession with scientific rigor, with entrepreneurial spirit, and a deep-rooted passion for natural healing, to build products that improve people's lives.

Ep 21: Manu Gopinath - President, UST

We meet Manu Goppinath, who tells us how he transitioned from spending his early years in a small town in India, to being President of a global organization with 30,000 employees. He explained how he wasn't initially keen to work in IT, hoping to use his engineering degree to support a career in sales. But the right leadership in the right organization saw him develop the technical, business and - critically - people skills to grow into the role of global leader. He tells us how he learnt to say 'yes, but...' to all opportunities, and that he considers his greatest achievement to be building and leading teams of great people.

Ep 20: Mike Vaughan - CDO, Brown & Brown

We meet Mike Vaughan, chief data officer of a large organization in the financial sector, and in his words blessed with a wonderful family and work life. Mike tells us how he got into technology through coding for his Commodore PC, inspired by the ability to do something creative. How he parlayed that into a computer science degree, then went to work in a textile mill because he chose to work with good people. He describes a career spend in app development, and then data; making the transition from manufacturing to finance. He shares how he learnt along the way the value of a deep understanding on his organizations' goals, and the power of knowing what you don't know. But above all he speaks to the power of working with great people in a good team.

Ep 19:Hal Lonas - Chief Technology Officer at Trulioo

We meet Hal Lonas, CTO of Trulioo and a recognized innovator in cloud security and machine learning. Hal is a long-standing champion of automation technology, having worked in C-suite roles for multiple household names. Hal has also co-authored several patents and holds a degree in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT. He tells us how he shifted from aerospace to software after he took a job as a coder whilst still in school. How he loved the immediacy of solving problems and creating things with code, and how a great boss helped him understand where his skillset and experience fitted in with the wider organization. Hal describes himself as a nerd - someone for whom learning new technology is always a joy. And he says that he actively wants to be told he is wrong because that is how he gets to learn new things.

Ep 18:Dr Francis Goh: Change is a constant

We meet Dr Francis Goh - academic, author and CEO. In a storied career Dr Francis Goh has been an innovator and technical expert. A strategist, board ember, leadership mentor and sought after public Speaker. He tells us about how he wanted to be an engineer rather than an IT professional, but fell into the industry as a strategist after completing an MBA. He describes his subsequent career as a serious of pivots that lead him to where he needs to be - solving problems with a mixture of technical and business skills, creating an innovation pathway that elevates organizations. Francis speaks of his pride in the book he wrote to distill these ideas, and advises those just starting out to accept change as a constant.