Building Tech Teams with James MacDonald

The business wants AI, and it wants it now. Meanwhile security budgets are flatlining, breaches are becoming a line item, and agents can wander places no one scoped them for. Kevin Akermanis, Solutions Architect at Okta and a 15-year Salesforce veteran, joins James to talk about what actually breaks when you bolt AI onto an enterprise, and why experience is quietly becoming the scarcest asset in t...

The first hire used to be an engineer. Michael Batko thinks that's now backwards — and that's just the start of how AI is rewiring the way you build a tech team. In the first episode of Building Tech Teams , James MacDonald sits down with Michael Batko — who spent eight years as CEO of Startmate backing 240+ startups, and now runs the AI-native venture batko.ai. They get into what actually changes...

From a childhood without electricity to co-founding a listed betting company, Oliver Shanahan’s story is a masterclass in technical grit and commercial pivots. As the Group Head of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure at BetMakers Technology Group, Oliver traces his path from wiring up early ISPs and mining ERPs to building TopBetta from a two-person LAMP stack into an ASX-listed business.  In this ep...

In this episode of Tech Execs, James MacDonald heads to Melbourne to sit down with Matt Vitale, former co-founder of Australia’s largest equity crowdfunding platform and now Executive Director at New Dialogue. Matt traces his winding path from nightlife promoter and sugarcane juice tinkerer to financial services lawyer, then startup pioneer, where he helped more than 300 companies raise over $250M...

Victoria Aspden, Executive General Manager - Digital & Transformation at Ampcontrol has had an unconventional career journey. Initially choosing technology for its earning potential, she managed to work her way through the field when recruiters valued her relationship-building skills over pure technical credentials. This pattern of people taking chances on her became a defining theme throughou...

On the first episode of NTP’s Tech Exec podcast series, James MacDonald sits down with Andrew Cresp to talk about his journey through financial services technology leadership, from early days in the insurance industry, moving through major roles in banking, before landing as CIO at NGM Group. Having grown up in country South Australia, Andrew reveals his passion for making regional businesses worl...

Ever wondered what it's like to transition from finance to IT, and from Sweden to Australia? On this episode of the NewyTechPeople podcast, Linda Apostolidis sits down with Margareta Bogatir Studdert, who brings her unique global experience to Newcastle. You'll hear about her fascinating career evolution and the surprising differences (and similarities!) of working cultures across continents. Marg...

In this episode of the NewyTechPeople podcast, James sits down with Adam Ingles, a fractional CFO and Director at Quick:Ratio, who works with technology startups. Adam shares his experience in the tech industry and explains the benefits of fractional CFO roles for early-stage startups. He breaks down when companies should bring in finance expertise, the current fundraising landscape, and the key e...

In this episode of the NewyTechPeople podcast, we sit down with Roger Crellin, a seasoned technology executive who has recently moved to Newcastle. Roger shares his extensive international experience in the commercial side of technology, including roles at Fujifilm, smart TV manufacturers, and casino software companies. He discusses the challenges and rewards of working abroad, offering valuable a...

In this episode of the NewyTechPeople podcast, we sit down with Michael Graham, a partner at Cutcher & Neale. Michael shares his journey from labourer to accountant to systems consultant, highlighting the importance of adaptability and continuous learning in the ever-evolving world of technology and finance. He discusses the shift from traditional accounting systems to cloud-based solutions, t...

Our latest episode of the NewyTechPeople Podcast features Josh Jeffress, Principle at Design Anthology. Josh, a passionate innovator and industry veteran, shares his incredible journey from trade school to establishing a design powerhouse in the Hunter region. Discover his insights on: * The importance of education beyond degrees * The power of innovation through cross-pollination * How relationsh...

Join us as we speak with Adam Boyle, CEO of EngageRM and founder of Pegasus, an Australian tech company that started in mining safety and grew into a global player before a successful exit. We'll hear how Pegasus got its start doing labour hire and training in the mining industry before expanding into software like digital safety inductions. When the mining downturn hit, Pegasus pivoted to new ind...

This episode of the NTP Podcast features Brett Thomas, COO of The Melt. Brett recounts his journey from aspiring professional soccer player to founding The Melt, a hardware startup accelerator. After a leg injury ended his soccer career, Brett backpacked internationally for a year before working in surveying and offshore hydrographic positioning. He later helped build out the internet's fiber opti...

Join us as we speak with Josh Weeks, founder and Director of Alpha Echo, an Australian cybersecurity company. Josh shares his journey from wanting to be a teacher to becoming an aerospace engineer for the Australian Defence Force. After leaving the ADF, Josh struggled to find work but eventually launched his own contracting company in Canberra. He later moved his family back to Newcastle and slowl...

In this episode, Carolyn Breeze shares her career journey through the world of tech and payments. Starting at eBay, she gained experience at large Silicon Valley companies before becoming Country Manager for Braintree in Australia. Her passion for payments grew as she helped expand GoCardless's services down under. After a stint as Chief Commercial Officer at Zepto, Carolyn took on the CEO role at...

On this episode of the Digitally Diverse podcast, Ellen talks to Sophie Benjamin, Content Designer at Canva. Sophie talks about going through three career changes, and the process of transitioning into tech. We discuss the principles of content design and the similarities and differences between them and UX or Product Design. The episode also covers a wide range of topics spinning out of Sophie's...

In this episode, James talks to Michelle Crawford, Chief Conversationalist of Being More Human.  Michelle sheds light on the power of good leadership. People often forget that leadership and management is a technical capability and shares tips to help listeners develop that skill.  We also look at how the best leaders have excellent strategic thinking capabilities and embrace ambiguity. We discuss...

On this episode of Digitally Diverse, we talk to Jalissa Lawson, a Senior Product Designer at Zip Co. Jalissa talks about her experience transitioning from marketing to product design and UI, what it's like working in the fintech space and how she's adapted to a start-up way of thinking. Jalissa also shares how she's upskilled via university, boot camps and good old-fashioned YouTube, along with w...

To celebrate our 100th NTP Podcast episode, we filmed our first-ever live episode! In this episode, we take time to reflect on the progress that Newcastle has made from a steel city into a technology hub. We talk about how the technology community fuels and is fuelled by this evolution and how we can keep it growing strong into the future. We also reflect on a massive 100 episodes, with many more...

On this episode of the Digitally Diverse series we chat with Ryan Whitmore, Senior Product Design at Ready Tech. We chat about Ryan's career to date, his role at Ready Tech, resources he recommends and the problems the team at Ready Tech are solving. Hope you enjoy the interview!

On this episode of the Digitally Diverse series we chat with Gloria Chan, Head of Design at Wisr about her career to date, advice for those wanting to start a career in design, what the team at Wisr are currently working on and representation in the design industry.  Hope you enjoy the interview!

On this episode of the Digitally Diverse series with our host Ellen Bennett we chat with Mikey Ford, Product & Creative Technology. Mikey shares his career journey starting as a developer and moving into the project management space, productivity tips and his perspective on the ever changing technology scene. Hope you enjoy the interview!

On this episode of the NTP Podcast we chat with Jackson Clarke about his career to date, his experience at University studying a masters and what problems Tentacle CM&I are solving. Hope you enjoy the interview! 

On this episode of the NewyTechPeople Podcast we interview Adriaan Steyn, Product Design Lead at Hide and Seek Digital. Ellen and Adriaan chat about his career to date, his experience studying at University in South Africa, the projects Adriaan is currently working on as well as his passion for making meaningful impact with his work. Hope you enjoy the interview!

In our latest podcast episode we chat with Andre Pinkowski about his career to date, his experience as a founder and invaluable tips for scaling startups.