Digitally Curious

When we think about the components that go together to make the internet work we probably think of browsers and IP addresses but there is one critical component that brings it together - the Domain Name System or DNS. It's the reason behind when you type cnn.com you end up on the right website. The design of DNS is more than 30 years old, but still is a critical point of the internet today. I...

This special episode of the podcast was recorded live in front of an audience in February 2022 as one of a number of popular events run by the Institution of Engineers Australia UK Chapter. It features a panel of experts discussing a very interesting subject that of space-based solar power. I was joined on stage by Martin Soltau Co-Chair Space Energy Initiative & Space Business Lead at Frazer-...

We've learned much about how to work remotely over the last 2 years, but how will these changes impact the education sector? To answer this I invited  Mark Sweeney, who is the Regional Vice President for Citrix in the UK & Ireland onto this episode of the podcast. Mark has over 25 years of experience in business innovation, and a key focus has been innovation within the technical professi...

To understand the future of the market research industry, my guest is Tom Smith, Founder and CEO of GWI. Having spent several years working agency side, he recognised a growing demand for global data to better understand the complex online market, coupling the world's largest ongoing study on the digital consumer with powerful analytics. GWI is now the leading provider of digital consumer ins...

As a special holiday edition of the podcast, and the final episode of this current series, I’m joined by Internationally acclaimed Mezzo-Soprano Deborah Humble . She is highly regarded for her Wagner roles and has performed in opera houses around the world including Paris, London, Sydney and Hamburg. She’s also been a friend of mine for over 35 years. Born in Bangor, Wales, Deborah grew up in Adel...

We know that cybersecurity presents a huge risk to us both personally and professionally, but what can we do to stay safe? To answer this question I spoke with cybersecurity expert Raj Samani , who at the time of recording was Chief Scientist at McAfee , and is now at Rapid7 on the Actionable Futurist Podcast®. As an international cybercrime expert, Raj has assisted multiple law enforcement agenci...

On this episode of the Actionable Futurist® podcast, we spoke with Steve Cadigan who has been at the forefront of global talent strategy and company culture for the past 30 years.  He is most famous for scaling Linkedin from 400 to 4,000 in just 3 and a half years. Steve also led the development of LinkedIn’s legendary company culture and was at the helm of the Talent function for its period of th...

On this episode of the Actionable Futurist® podcast, we spoke with Mark Schaefer, someone I’ve known for nearly a decade. We first met in 2012 after he published the best selling book “Return on Influence” while I was the CEO of influencer platform Kred. He’s also the author of the world's best-selling book on Twitter, The Tao of Twitter, as well as a raft of other books such as The Content C...

In this episode, we spoke to Bret Greenstein who at the time of recording was Global Head of AI & Analytics for consulting firm Cognizant. He now leads PwC's US AI, Data and Analytics Strategy and Alliances. He has an additional role leading Generative AI for the firm. Bret has worked for over 25 years helping clients to transform through the adoption of new technologies, including Genera...

In this episode, we spoke to Sue Walter who is the former CEO of Maggie and Rose, London's first and best-loved family members club. Sue is no stranger to Member’s clubs, having been the CEO of the Hospital Club where we met back in 2011. The Hospital Club was a club for creatives and was founded by Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen and Dave Stewart from the Eurythmics. It opened in 2004 and sa...

Braintrust is the new model for how work gets done, says founder and Chief Revenue Officer Gabriel Luna-Ostaseki on this episode of the podcast. Braintrust is the first user-controlled talent network that connects organisations with highly skilled tech talent.  In this fascinating discussion, we covered topics such as: Why the way we work is outdated and what needs to be done to fix it How the old...

Today's guest is the founding member and drummer from 1980s pop sensation Scritti Politti - Tom Morley. We had a fascinating discussion about how Tom moved from being a bonafide rockstar to become a "Rockstar Activator", motivating audiences and driving teamwork at events around the world through the use of music, instruments and a healthy dose of fun. Tom's journey to corporat...

Today's guest is Jeremy Thompson, who is Executive Vice President of Huawei UK, and oversees the development of Huawei's UK businesses. Jeremy joined Huawei UK in 2012 as deputy managing director with specific responsibility for carrier strategy, business change, and key customers. Prior to Huawei, Jeremy worked for 20 years in senior management roles, including product leadership and te...

On this episode, we spoke with James Cridland, Editor of leading podcast news site Podnews . Podcasting is on the rise, with 96,500 new podcasts in May 2020 alone. In this episode we discussed a number of topics related to podcasting, including: Is Podcasting is on the increase? The half-life of a podcast series Is podcasting the new blogging? How Podnews started Producing a daily podcast and news...

In this special edition of the Actionable Futurist® Podcast, we spoke with Dan Ziv , CEO of Touchnote , a digital company that is providing a creative way for personal communication which I think we’d all agree is needed even more during this very challenging 2020. Dan runs a small company of 50 people, and we looked at how his company runs remotely, how he runs a company remotely and how his staf...

In this time of extreme uncertainty, what can we do to to thrive and overcome an unprecedented time in our personal and business life? Dr Lynn Gribble based her PhD on the psychological underpinnings of the effects of retrenchment - that is thriving in uncertainty. We asked her back onto the show to look at some practical tips we can use during this uncertain time. Lynn last appeared on Season 1,...

So networking is all about going to events, collecting cards and connecting on LinkedIn right? Think again! Any Lopata provides some incredible advice about how to move beyond simple "networking" and develop strong professional relationships. On this episode you will learn: Why connecting is not enough Creating a networking strategy The Professional Relationship Wheel Using LinkedIn beyo...

We've all heard about 5G or fifth-generation mobile technologies but what is it all about and what does the future hold for 5G? To help answer this question, The Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill spoke to Paul Scanlan who is the CTO of Huawei's Carrier Business Group . In this episode, Paul discussed the 5 reasons to trust 5G. 1. No harmful electromagnetic fields 2. 5G is more secure tha...

The Internet of Things or IoT is probably the most-hyped technology behind blockchain - but what does it really mean and what are the uses of the technology. Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill spoke with the CEO and co-founder of Microshare , Ron Rock - one of the pioneers of IoT. In this wide-ranging chat, we looked at what IoT is, why it has been misunderstood and how is can be best used in a cor...

With Podcasting now becoming mainstream, what is the future of this medium? To answer this question I spoke with one of the original B2B podcasters, Minter Dial who has produced a weekly show since 2010 with over 350 episodes to date. I first met Minter in 2012 and have been a guest on his show twice before. Minter first appeared on Series 1, episode 2 of the podcast to speak about Ethics and AI,...

When the World Economic Forum decides that cybersecurity is one of the top global risks alongside climate change, extreme weather and natural disasters you know it's serious. Their recent report on the top global risks identified cyber threats as something that has the capacity to disrupt society on a massive scale. This episode features Nick Coleman who at the time of recording was IBM’s Glo...

Do you think disruptively? In this episode we spoke with self-described "Rough Diamond", Nicole Yershon about what it means to think like a disruptor and how disruption can be turned into an advantage. Nicole is not new to disruption. When Nicole joined Ogilvy in 2000 she was given the simple brief of “bringing the agency into the 21st century”. She achieved this by building relationship...

Cryptocurrency and especially bitcoin has been one of the most over-hyped technologies this decade. To better understand the opportunity for cryptocurrencies and blockchain, I spoke with Jeremy Epstein , CEO of Never Stop Marketing, who has 20 years of international marketing experience. Most recently, Jeremy was VP, Marketing at Sprinklr which grew from a $20 million valuation and 30 people to $1...

Great content that cuts through the noise is key in a disrupted B2B world. In this episode of the podcast, I spoke with Eric Fulwiler who recently joined 11:FS - a financial services transformation company as CMO, overseeing their media and marketing teams across the group. He spent the last 10 years in digital advertising agencies, most recently as UK Managing Director for US-based VaynerMedia -...

With the rise and rise of online shopping can the high street survive? To answer this question and others on the future of retail I asked Julian Fisher, CEO of Retail platform Jisp for his expert views. Julian has enjoyed a varied background in technology, payments and new media, and in 1994 he launched the UK’s first internet exhibition. Since then his work has remained inexorably linked to the i...