Alex

Tech Insight

Technology EN ↓ 31 episodes

Welcome to Tech Insight, the podcast where we explore the stories, strategies, and lessons from top professionals in the IT industry in New Zealand. Whether you're just starting your career or looking to take it to the next level, we bring you conversations with architects, data scientists, engineers and other tech leaders who have navigated the fast-changing landscape of technology.

Author

Alex

Episodes

EP31 From Customer Service to Enterprise Transformation: Norie Ape on Product Leadership, Diversity, and Driving Meaningful Change 28.06.2026 28:45

Norie Ape: https://www.linkedin.com/in/norie-a-techtalanoa/ Ben Yu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/ We’d love more tech professionals to be a guest on the podcast! Get in touch via LinkedIn or ybbest@gmail.com ⁠ . If you’re a student, we’re seeking volunteers to help co-host, promote, and edit the podcast. Get in touch via LinkedIn!

EP30 From Sales to AI Strategy: Ankur on Building Skills, Resilience, and Cross-Border Innovation 17.06.2026 22:07

Discount code : AINEXUSSUPPORTER for a 30% discount. Registration link: https://stratmate.zohobackstage.com.au/AINexus2026TheIndia-NewZealandAISummit Ankur : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankur-shrivastava-622a4a28/Mayank :https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayank-j-/ Ben https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/ We’d love more tech professionals to be a guest on the podcast! Get in touch via LinkedIn or ybbest@...

EP29 Gregory’s Journey Part2: From Student to BA Leader in the Age of AI 13.06.2026 28:25

Gregory https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorythomasng/ BA Career: https://www.meetup.com/ba-career-meetup-group/ Tracy https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-wang-marketing/ Ben https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/ We’d love more tech professionals to be a guest on the podcast! Get in touch via LinkedIn or ybbest@gmail.com ⁠ . If you’re a student, we’re seeking volunteers to help co-host, promote, and edi...

EP28 Gregory on the BA Career Blueprint: Skills, Strategy & Real-World Experience 01.06.2026 26:16

Gregory https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorythomasng/ Tracy https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-wang-marketing/ Ben https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/ We’d love more tech professionals to be a guest on the podcast! Get in touch via LinkedIn or ybbest@gmail.com ⁠ . If you’re a student, we’re seeking volunteers to help co-host, promote, and edit the podcast. Get in touch via LinkedIn!

EP27 From Cold Emails to AI Engineer: How Saartje Ly Broke Into AI Software Engineering 19.05.2026 25:43

Saartje Ly https://www.linkedin.com/in/saartje-ly-380627243/ Ben https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/ We’d love more tech professionals to be a guest on the podcast! Get in touch via LinkedIn or ybbest@gmail.com ⁠ . If you’re a student, we’re seeking volunteers to help co-host, promote, and edit the podcast. Get in touch via LinkedIn!

EP26 From Graduate to Hired with Deb Crossan: The Real Secrets to Landing a Tech Job 15.05.2026 22:46

Deb Crossan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deb-crossan/ Ben https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/ We’d love more tech professionals to be a guest on the podcast! Get in touch via LinkedIn or ybbest@gmail.com ⁠ . If you’re a student, we’re seeking volunteers to help co-host, promote, and edit the podcast. Get in touch via LinkedIn!

EP25 From Technology to Strategic Impact: Swapna Soni on AI and Human-Centred Transformation 10.05.2026 28:23

Swapna Soni : https://www.linkedin.com/in/swapnasoni/ Ben https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/ We’d love more tech professionals to be a guest on the podcast! Get in touch via LinkedIn or ybbest@gmail.com ⁠ If you’re a student, we’re seeking volunteers to assist in co-hosting, promoting, and editing the podcast. Get in touch via LinkedIn!

EP24 Landing Your First AI Job in a Tough Market | Harry Wills on Networking, Mentorship & Mindset 09.05.2026 25:53

Harry https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrywills001/ Ben https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/ We’d love more tech professionals to be a guest on the podcast! Get in touch via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/⁠ ⁠ If you’re a student, we’re seeking volunteers to assist in co-hosting, promoting, and editing the podcast. Get in touch via LinkedIn!

EP23 Breaking Into Tech in New Zealand: Nila Zhu on Business Analysis, Job Hunting, and AI 24.04.2026 28:24

Nila Zhu https://www.linkedin.com/in/nila-zhu/ Ben Yu https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/ We’d love more tech professionals to be a guest on the podcast! Get in touch via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/⁠ ⁠ If you’re a student, we’re seeking volunteers to assist in co-hosting, promoting, and editing the podcast. Get in touch via LinkedIn!

EP22 Why Job Boards Aren’t Enough: How to Break Into Tech in 2026 18.04.2026 28:50

Chris https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismreid/ Ben https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/ We’d love more tech professionals to be a guest on the podcast! Get in touch via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/⁠ ⁠ If you’re a student, we’re seeking volunteers to assist in co-hosting, promoting, and editing the podcast. Get in touch via LinkedIn!

EP21 Building a Tech Career in the Age of AI: Skills That Actually Matter 07.04.2026 8:35

Zhexi Wen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhexi-wen-b10884375 Jason Jin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-jin-398a2913a/ We’d love more tech professionals to be a guest on the podcast! Get in touch via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/⁠ ⁠ If you’re a student, we’re seeking volunteers to assist in co-hosting, promoting, and editing the podcast. Get in touch via LinkedIn!

EP20 From Teacher to Data Scientist: Alex Liu’s Non-Linear Path into Tech 29.03.2026 9:43

Alex Liu : https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-liu-0444b5267/ Hannah Wang https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah19990610/ We’d love more tech professionals to be a guest on the podcast! Get in touch via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/⁠ ⁠ If you’re a student, we’re seeking volunteers to assist in co-hosting, promoting, and editing the podcast. Get in touch via LinkedIn!

EP19 From Writing Code to Leading Teams: Mark Pearl on Servant Leadership in Tech 26.03.2026 28:46

Mark https://www.linkedin.com/in/markpearl/ https://www.meetup.com/juniordev-auckland/ We’d love more tech professionals to be a guest on the podcast! Get in touch via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/⁠ ⁠ If you’re a student, we’re seeking volunteers to assist in co-hosting, promoting, and editing the podcast. Get in touch via LinkedIn!

EP18 From Property Management to Senior Data Analyst: A Self‑Taught Path into IT 23.03.2026 17:30

Eos Li https://www.linkedin.com/in/eos-li-cfa-7a8125171/We’d love more tech professionals to be a guest on the podcast! Get in touch via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/⁠ ⁠ If you’re a student, we’re seeking volunteers to assist in co-hosting, promoting, and editing the podcast. Get in touch via LinkedIn!

EP17 Breaking Into Business Analysis: Sophie Chen on Career Transitions, Community, and AI 18.03.2026 29:53

Sophie Chen https://www.linkedin.com/in/xichen618/ https://www.meetup.com/ba-career-meetup-group/Sophie shares her inspiring journey from technical sales in the electronics industry to becoming a senior BA in banking, highlighting the challenges of career transition, on-the-job learning, and growing into senior-level responsibilities without constant mentorship. The conversation dives deep into: T...

EP16 From Forklift Driver to CIO: Leadership, Curiosity, and AI with Steve James 02.01.2026 34:56

Steve James https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevejamesnz/ We’d love more tech professionals to be a guest on the podcast! Get in touch via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/⁠ ⁠ If you’re a student, we’re seeking volunteers to assist in co-hosting, promoting, and editing the podcast. Get in touch via LinkedIn!

EP15 Breaking Down Silos: Anthony Marter on Building Truly Customer-Centric Organizations 28.12.2025 27:04

Anthony https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonymarter/ Mavis https://www.linkedin.com/in/beibeima/ We’d love more tech professionals to be a guest on the podcast! Get in touch via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/⁠ ⁠ If you’re a student, we’re seeking volunteers to assist in co-hosting, promoting, and editing the podcast. Get in touch via LinkedIn!

EP14 From BA to AI Advocate: The Career Journey of Sandra Mukundu 08.12.2025 31:09

You can reach out to Sandra Mukundu : https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-mukundu-76012b39/We’d love more tech professionals to be a guest on the podcast! Get in touch via LinkedIn! ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/⁠ If you’re a student, we’re seeking volunteers to assist in co-hosting, promoting, and editing the podcast. Get in touch via LinkedIn!

Breaking Barriers in Tech Chenna Krishna’s Journey from Struggle to Principal Engineer 02.12.2025 32:00

You can reach out to Chenna https://www.linkedin.com/in/chenna-krishna-pala/ We’d love more tech professionals to be a guest on the podcast! Get in touch via LinkedIn! https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/ If you’re a student, we’re seeking volunteers to assist in co-hosting, promoting, and editing the podcast. Get in touch via LinkedIn!

Networking, Mentorship & More: Secrets to Your First Job 02.11.2025 23:38

Want to be mentored by Ben Yu ? 🌟 Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/Secrets to Your First Job ✅ Start Early 👩‍🎓 Find a Mentor 💼 Gain Industry Experience 🤝 Network Smartly 🌐 Build Your Brand 📩 Follow Up 🎓 How to Land Your First Job in Tech 🚀 Just wrapped up an insightful conversation on Tech Insight 🎙️ about breaking into the tech industry. Here are my top 3...

From Game Developer to Tech Leader: Kyle’s Journey of Passion and Purpose 29.10.2025 36:52

Guest: ⁠Kyle Muir⁠ Ben Yu⁠ and Fay Qian⁠ We had the pleasure of chatting with Kyle Muir, a respected senior people leader in NZ’s IT industry, about his inspiring career journey—from writing games as a teen to leading teams and shaping strategy at scale. 💡 Key Takeaways: Started in tech by breaking (and fixing!) family computers 🖥️ Built and sold a game in PHP/MySQL as a teenager 🎮 Got his first...

EP10 From Chef to Engineering Director: A Journey of Adaptability, Resilience & Vision 03.10.2025 23:39

Guest: ⁠Dennis Hui⁠ , Director of Software Development Host: ⁠Yufei Qian⁠ Master's student in AI at the University of Auckland Dennis began his career in hospitality before transitioning to IT. Studied commerce, then computer science at the University of Auckland. Progressed from developer → senior developer → team lead → manager → director. His life experience and people skills gave him an ed...

EP9 How Podcasting Transformed My IT Career: From International student to IT leader 30.09.2025 11:37

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybbest/ Ben, the host of the Solution Architect Show , details how podcasting acted as a catalyst for his IT career progression from an international student to a leader. He identifies five key professional advantages derived from the activity, starting with improving communication skills through consistent practice and moving to the ability to ask thoughtful ques...

EP8 From Engineer to Product Leader: Anthony’s Journey 09.08.2025 34:06

In this episode, Anthony shares his path from engineering to product management during the early Agile days in NZ. We dive into what product managers really do, the skills needed to succeed, and how community, communication, and business acumen shaped his journey. A must-listen for anyone navigating a tech career shift! Anthony Marter Ben Yu email: ybbest@gmail.com

Ep7. Navigating the IT Architect Job Market in New Zealand 23.12.2024 32:22

In this episode of Tech Insight, we dive deep into the world of IT Architects in New Zealand. From exploring the current job market landscape to uncovering the most in-demand skills, certifications, and experience, we provide valuable insights for aspiring and experienced IT professionals alike. Discover how much IT Architects earn, the benefits offered, and tips for networking and finding the bes...