In this episode, Andrew Grill welcomes back Chris Juneau from SAP Concur to discuss the latest findings from the 2025 CFO Insights report, “Action for Growth.” The conversation explores the evolving role of CFOs, the growing impact of AI and automation in finance, and the introduction of new agentic AI capabilities within SAP Concur’s platform. Key Topics Covered Evolution of CFO Mindset: The shift from “repositioning for growth” to “action for growth” reflects CFOs moving from reactive strategi...
Jun 03, 2025•31 min•Season 7Ep. 4
What happens when we prioritise innovation over ethics in AI development? For the 100th episode of the Digitally Curious Podcast, Kerry Sheehan, a machine learning specialist with a fascinating journey from journalism to AI policy, explores this critical question as she shares powerful insights on responsible AI implementation. Kerry takes us on a compelling exploration of AI guardrails, comparing them to bowling alley bumpers that prevent technologies from causing harm. Her work with the Britis...
May 05, 2025•35 min•Season 7Ep. 3
A phone call that changes everything. A seemingly impossible challenge. Hours instead of months to prepare. When mezzo-soprano Deborah Humble received that unexpected call from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, she faced a career-defining decision: step onto the stage of the Sydney Opera House that very evening to perform Gustav Mahler's Second Symphony—a piece she had never fully sung before—or walk away from the opportunity of a lifetime. What followed was a whirlwind day of frantic preparation, ...
Apr 01, 2025•44 min•Season 7Ep. 2
Welcome to Season 7 of the Digitally Curious Podcast. This show is a perfect compendium if you’ve bought the book of the same name, and if you haven’t grabbed yourself a copy, may I suggest that’s something you should consider investing in - just click here or ask for it by name wherever great books are sold. In today’s episode, we’re going back in time to an interview I conducted with David Shrier in late 2021 - well before ChatGPT hit the headlines. We discuss his book Augmenting Your Career: ...
Jan 01, 2025•40 min•Season 7Ep. 1
In this episode, we speak to Australia's first official astronaut, Katherine Bennell-Pegg, about her lifelong passion for space exploration and how she pursued her dream of becoming an astronaut. We also covered: The importance of international experience and cultural adaptability in the astronaut selection process and training The rigorous and diverse nature of astronaut training, including spacecraft systems, robotics, survival techniques, and more The exciting future of space exploration, inc...
Nov 27, 2024•22 min•Season 6Ep. 13
In this episode, Andrew Grill sits down with Carol Howley, Chief Marketing Officer at Exclaimer, a leading email signature management company. Carol shares her extensive experience in B2B marketing, from her early days at Skyscanner to her current role at Exclaimer, where she has been instrumental in scaling the company's marketing efforts. They discuss a wide range of topics, including: Carol's Marketing Journey: From her start at Best Western Hotels to building the B2B arm at Skyscanner and he...
Nov 11, 2024•40 min•Season 6Ep. 12
Join Carolanne Ashley, co-host of the Your MindBody Link podcast , as we journey into the future of AI and unpack Andrew Grill's new book, Digitally Curious . Have you ever wondered how digital curiosity can shape your career? This episode promises to unravel that and more as we uncover the behind-the-scenes story of "Digitally Curious" and how Andrew's early experiments with technology and over 100 podcast interviews fueled its content. The episode examines groundbreaking technologies such as q...
Oct 27, 2024•22 min•Season 6Ep. 11
In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, the role of the CFO is undergoing a transformative shift. As highlighted in a recent discussion on the Digitally Curious podcast with Chris Juneau , Head of Market Strategy for SAP Concur , CFOs are increasingly turning to AI to drive strategic growth and innovation. Many of you may already be using SAP Concur without realising it. When you book a trip, submit your expenses, or you use the brilliant traveller app Tripit, you’re using SAP Concur ser...
Oct 20, 2024•36 min•Season 6Ep. 10
Many will know that I’ve just published my new book, Digitally Curious : Your Guide to Navigating the Future of AI and All Things Tech, which is now available worldwide . The reception has been overwhelmingly positive, and I believe it is a book that will help many people better understand the technology surrounding us. I’ve already been interviewed on several podcasts about the book, and you can find links to these below. I wanted to showcase the book on the podcast, but it would be strange for...
Oct 08, 2024•15 min•Season 6Ep. 9
In this episode, we delve into the transformative power of AI and technology in the nonprofit sector with Jacek Siadkowsk , co-founder and CEO of Tech to the Rescue . Our discussion explores how tech innovations are revolutionizing nonprofit operations, from enhancing efficiency and service delivery to driving social good through scalable solutions. Jacek's journey from running a digital agency to spearheading a global movement offers valuable insights into the mission and impact of Tech to the ...
Jul 28, 2024•37 min•Season 6Ep. 8
How can insights from managing a winery help shape the future of AI technology at Intel? Carla Rodríguez bridges both worlds. When I asked Robert Hallock at Intel who I should invite next onto the podcast – his response was instant - Carla Rodríguez, who runs Intel’s client software ecosystem. “Razor sharp … just so smart, so capable” was his description, so I just had to invite her onto the show. Carla is no ordinary big tech company exec. She served in the Peace Corps in Romania and worked her...
Jul 21, 2024•36 min•Season 6Ep. 7
How can emerging technologies and critical thinking shape the future of business? Join us on Digitally Curious as we sit down with Arvind Ravishunkar , General Manager of Think Tank and Tech Strategy at Wipro . Arvind offers an inside look at the groundbreaking projects at Wipro's innovation lab, Lab45, and discusses how the lab is pioneering new business models and sustainable practices. Discover how their Think Tank's new podcast, Unpacked, aims to make complex technical topics accessible, and...
Jun 16, 2024•45 min•Season 6Ep. 6
This episode is sponsored by Intel. There are some exciting new developments in AI, and we're at the beginning of a truly transformative era, thanks largely to innovations led by companies such as Intel. Intel's recent advancements in AI technology, particularly Intel vPro PCs powered by Intel Core Ultra processors, are setting a new benchmark for what professional devices can do. With a strategic shift towards local AI processing, Intel is mitigating the traditional reliance on cloud services, ...
May 12, 2024•56 min•Season 6Ep. 5
This podcast episode features an interview with Darshan Chandarana and Julia Howes from PwC about opportunities in enterprise AI. They discussed AI adoption across industries, with financial services and retail leading the way, and Darshan emphasised the importance of responsible AI and understanding societal impacts. Julia discussed the challenges of AI adoption like determining value and data privacy issues. Julia gave examples where Microsoft's Copilot AI is helping non-native English speaker...
Feb 25, 2024•46 min•Season 6Ep. 4
In this episode, we look at a report I wrote in partnership with Vodafone UK to examine how 5G Standalone (5G SA) could transform UK over the next 5-7 years. To talk more about the findings, I spoke with Nicki Lyons , Vodafone UK's Chief Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Officer. Some of the predictions in the report include: We’ll see the end of Video Assisted Referee (VAR) and poor off-side decision-making thanks to smart ball tech, pitch sensors and player wearables enabled by 5G Standal...
Feb 13, 2024•20 min•Season 6Ep. 3
In this episode, we’re casting our minds back to 2004, when NASA landed the Spirit rover on Mars; the last episode of Friends aired; George W Bush was re-elected US president, and the number one hits were LMC’s Take Me To The Clouds Above in the UK and Hey Ya! By Outkast in the US. Over at Harvard University, computer science student Mark Zuckerberg is coding in his dorm room. Lately, he’s been nurturing a reputation as a minor enfant terrible on campus after creating the shortlived site FaceMas...
Feb 01, 2024•34 min•Season 6Ep. 2
Twenty-four years ago, the world prepared for the risk of a global meltdown due to the "Y2K bug" - the potential for computer errors related to the formatting and storage of calendar data for dates in and after the year 2000. The issue at the time was many programs represented four-digit years with only the final two digits, making the year 2000 indistinguishable from 1900. Because many computer systems could not correctly distinguish dates, this had the potential to bring down worldwide infrast...
Jan 13, 2024•21 min•Season 6Ep. 1
Curious about edge computing? Want to understand why it's the next big thing in the world of IT? My conversation with Mark Swinson, an enterprise IT Automation Sales Specialist at Red Hat, might just be the discussion you're looking for. Mark takes us on a deep dive into the world of edge computing, discussing its benefits, applications, and the crucial role of open-source projects. We navigate the diverse applications of edge computing, exploring its transformative impact in sectors like retail...
Oct 30, 2023•27 min•Season 5Ep. 26
On this episode of the Actionable Futurist Podcast, I had an in-depth conversation with Steve Young, UK SVP & Managing Director for Dell Technologies, on why it is now critical that CEOs, CIOs, CFOs and CISOs play a role in driving a well-planned multicloud strategy for their businesses. In recent years, cloud technology has proliferated. However, many are realising that not all workloads and applications are suited to a single public cloud environment. Or, in fact, a public cloud environmen...
Oct 17, 2023•44 min•Season 5Ep. 25
The world of law is not immune to the sweeping changes brought about by technological advancements, specifically the advent of Artificial Intelligence. In a fascinating discussion with Jaeger Glucina , Chief of Staff at Luminance , we delve into how AI is reshaping the legal industry and creating new possibilities for efficiency and accuracy in legal processes. Built on a proprietary legal Large Language Model (LLM), Luminance uses next-generation AI to automate the generation, negotiation and a...
Sep 08, 2023•27 min•Season 5Ep. 24
Imagine a world where AI seamlessly integrates into your daily workflows, driving productivity gains, efficiency increases, and automation. AI and in particular Generative AI is all over the media, and now companies are looking at how they should be introducing AI into the enterprise. While Generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT have been trained on publicly available data, they may not be suitable for always-on and mission-critical systems. So what’s the opportunity for enterprise-grade AI? To...
Sep 07, 2023•45 min•Season 5Ep. 23
Can machines really think like humans? What is the future of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) when machines more closely resemble human behaviour than ever before? In this episode, Peter unveils his journey into the realm of AGI and his vision of machines possessing the ability to think, learn, and reason like humans. We look at the intricacies of general AI and how it sets itself apart from narrow AI. The episode also looks at how companies are tackling the immense challenges associated wi...
Aug 26, 2023•19 min•Season 5Ep. 22
In the race to dominate Al we have seen our data privacy, democracy, and even our human rights impacted. To understand what brands and consumers need to do to fight back, I spoke with Anton Christodoulou , Group Chief Technology Officer at leading experiential design company, Imagination and co-founder of the new Trust 3.0 initiative. The Trust 3.0 initiative is a Data Privacy Advocacy Group convening the brightest minds in privacy, AI, and technology to champion responsible innovation for a saf...
Aug 19, 2023•25 min•Season 5Ep. 21
Consumers are beginning to understand that their personal data has real value, but it is still held in the hands of big technology companies. The promise of consumers managing and owning their own data will become a reality thanks to decentralised or self-sovereign identity (SSI). To delve into this topic, I'm delighted to welcome onto the podcast Marie Wallace , Digital Identity Lead at Accenture. Marie and I both had the chance to work together at IBM and I've always enjoyed our discussions ab...
Aug 13, 2023•38 min•Season 5Ep. 20
What if you could unlock the full potential of Generative AI and its impact on your life and company? Get ready for a fascinating fireside chat recorded live in front of an audience at the offices of leading international law firm RPC during London Tech Week. The Actionable Futurist Andrew Grill was interviewed on stage by Helen Armstrong , a Partner in RPC’s IP and technology disputes team. The discussion examined the risks, issues, and ethics surrounding this powerful technology and the roles ...
Jun 15, 2023•44 min•Season 5Ep. 19
How will AI shape the future of marketing and advertising? Join us for a thought-provoking discussion with our guest, Isabel Perry, VP of Emerging Technology at DEPT , as we explore the role of AI and its impact on various industries. Isabel shares valuable insights on how her background in architecture has prepared her for the challenges of working with cutting-edge technology and how DEPT's unique approach helps brands stay ahead of the competition throughout their digital customer journey. We...
Jun 12, 2023•39 min•Season 5Ep. 18
When you settle into your seat on your next rail journey, see if you notice small towers dotted along the journey right next to the track. These are GSM-R base stations - a private GSM network for rail operators. Launched in the UK around 2007, the technology is based on the GSM mobile standard, and GSM-R suppliers have committed to support this system until 2030. So what’s the future of rail communications? Enter the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) using the latest 5G technol...
May 29, 2023•25 min•Season 5Ep. 17
Baby Boomers, Generation X, Gen Y, Millennials, Gen Z and now Gen Alpha. Is it right to define whole generations with a letter, and are we all that different? How can understanding generational differences pave the way for a successful future in the workforce, and how will Generative AI impact different generations? To answer these questions and more, I spoke with Social Researcher Mark McCrindle , who has spent his career examining each generation and how technology and societal issues affect e...
May 27, 2023•38 min•Season 5Ep. 16
We all know that ethics are important in AI, but beyond doing the right thing, are we actually focusing on the things that matter with the current AI tools? While ChatGPT can write you an analysis of a Shakespeare play to help you pass the semester, should AI be used for more pressing world problems - and are we building AI on the wrong paradigm? AI Ethicist Stephanie Antonian thinks so. I first met Stephanie at a recent Cadastra event around e-commerce, and over networking drinks, we debated th...
May 19, 2023•57 min•Season 5Ep. 15
AI Ethics isn’t just something we should be aware of - it is a movement according to Gaurav Rao from AtScale . Gaurav says “To me AI Ethics is a movement. and the reason why I define it as a movement is I think it has two distinct parts. There's technical frameworks that are continuing to evolve, and there's societal best practices, and both of these are put in conjunction to drive the responsible use of AI. Gaurav is EVP & GM of Machine Learning and AI at AtScale and has been working in the...
May 07, 2023•36 min•Season 5Ep. 14
