The Irish Tech News Podcast

Liberty IT is the software house for Fortune 100’s global insurance company, Liberty Mutual Insurance. So how have they managed with remote working, with hiring new staff and their work with charities in Belfast and Dublin during a pandemic? Ronan talks to Andy O’Sullivan, a Solutions Engineer based in their Dublin office and Cathy Donnelly, a Senior Director of Talent in their Belfast office about this and more.

Inspiring conversation with Hazel Henderson, who has been at the forefront of many important trends to help nudge our planet into a better and smarter way of living. Hazel Henderson is the founder of Ethical Markets Media, LLC and the creator of the Green Transition Scoreboard® and executive Producer of its TV series. She is a world-renowned futurist, evolutionary economist, a worldwide syndicated columnist, consultant on sustainable development, and author of The Axiom and Nautilus award-winning book Ethical Markets: Growing the Green Economy (2006) and eight other books. She co-edited, with Harlan Cleveland and Inge Kaul, The UN: Policy and Financing Alternatives, Elsevier Scientific, UK 1995 (US edition, 1996), and co-authored with Japanese Buddhist leader Daisaku Ikeda, Planetary Citizenship (2004). Her editorials appear in 27 languages and in 200 newspapers syndicated by InterPress Service, Rome, New York, and Washington, DC, and her book reviews appear at www.ethicalmarkets.com (Books and Reviews). Her articles have appeared in over 250 journals. Her books are translated into German, Spanish, Japanese, Dutch, Swedish, Korean, Portuguese, and Chinese. She sits on several editorial boards, including The State of the Future Report, and E/The Environmental Magazine (USA), Resurgence and Foresight and Futures (UK). Since founding Ethical Markets Media Certified B Corporation in 2004, Hazel stepped down from her many previous board memberships, including Worldwatch Institute (1975-2001), Calvert Social Investment Fund (1982-2005), and other associations, including the Social Investment Forum and the Social Venture Network. She remains on the International Council of the Instituto Ethos de Empresas e Responsabilidade Social, Sao Paulo, Brasil; the Program Council of FORUM 2000, Prague, Czechoslovakia, founded by their late President Vaclav Havel. She is a Fellow of the World Academy of Art & Science and World Business Academy. She created the Ethical Markets initiative on Transforming Finance and the EthicMark® Award for Communications Uplifting the Human Spirit and Society. www.ethicmark.org. And the global standard EthicMark® GEMS certifying only gems not mined from Mother Earth. www.ethicmarkgems.com In addition, she has been Regent’s Lecturer at the University of California-Santa Barbara, held the Horace Albright Chair in Conservation at the theUniversityofCalifornia-Berkeley, and advised the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Science Foundation from 1974 to 1980. She holds Honorary Doctor of Science degrees from the University of San Francisco; Soka University (Tokyo); Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts (USA); and Wilson College, Pennsylvania (USA). She is an active member of the National Press Club (WashingtonDC), advisor to the World Future Society (USA), She serves as an Honorary Judge for the KATERVA Global Awards for Sustainability. Henderson has many awards and is listed in Who’s WhoUSA, Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in Business and Finance and Who’s Who in Science and Technology. She is an Honorary Member of the Club of Rome. She shared the 1996 Global Citizen Award with Nobelist A. Perez Esquivel of Argentina. In 2007, she was elected a Fellow of Britain’s Royal Society of Arts, founded in 1754. In 2010 and 2012 she was honored as one of the “Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior ” by Trust Across America; the Good Business New York™ Leading Women of 2012; and for her lifetime achievement, the Award for Natural Law and Order from the Maharishi University School of Management and the Reuters Award for Outstanding Contribution to Development of ESG & Investing at TBLI Europe. Her personal site is www.hazelhenderson.com and her recent articles can be found at www.ethicalmarkts.com.

More about Melanie Over the years I have worked with SME, FMCG and State Bodies I'm delighted to say I now support and train all sizes of business and my business has grown with my clients. I provide Adult Education and support for people in Business. With my many years of experience in promoting services and charities in Ireland and the UK; I have been very fortunate to establish a strong network of contacts and over the years have learnt how best to promote a business online and improve their social media scoring. Creating a professional image and maintaining it is the crux of a great marketing plan and is instrumental in today’s climate in making your business stand out, I can tailor my services to your requirements. Over the last few years I have started working in other areas I have a genuine passion in. I have been avid writer for a number years and started working as a Freelance Writer with Irish Tech News since 2016 and StartUp Mindset since October 2019.

Working remotely during a pandemic has brought challenges to businesses namely how can we do this securely and comply with GDPR. Ronan talks to Des Ryan director of Solutions at Microsoft about new research that Microsoft Ireland published yesterday. Des talks about this research which concentrated on remote working, digital security behaviours, and the concerns they now face. Des also talks about what we can do to ensure our remote working environment is more secure and the latest Microsoft digital defence report.

In this episode, we talk with James Ellsmoor the founder and driving force behind Island Innovation, which helps to support and inspire island communities globally to remain viable and sustainable. More about James Ellsmoor below, and check out the website https://islandinnovation.co/ James is the founder of Island Innovation, an organization that works with diverse rural and island communities around the world to develop solutions for sustainable development and prosperity. Island Innovation uses its global network to find innovative answers through modern technology and sharing good practice, building digital bridges between far-flung islands. James has a Master’s Degree in Island Studies from the University of the Highlands and Islands. He is also a co-founder of Solar Head of State (SHOS), which works with governments to push action on renewable energy. The NGO has focused on small island developing states (SIDS) with solar installations on the Office of the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Government House in Saint Lucia and the Presidential Palace of the Maldives. SHOS is now working with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and the Pacific Island Development Forum to install solar on the official residences across these organizations’ combined 24 member states. Growing up on a farm in Shropshire, England, James now lives as a digital nomad, moving wherever his latest project takes him!

Pleasure to catch up with global Irish man Oisin Lunny. We cover a range of topics including his perspectives on the latest tech trends for events, the power of podcasts, and why music has helped to keep us sane during the lockdown. Oisin Lunny is an award-winning marketer, webinar and podcast host, MC, public speaker, virtual event consultant, UX business professor, and journalist. His work has been translated into Chinese and Arabic, and read over half a million times as a senior contributor to Forbes, music editor at PHOENIX Magazine, and via regular contributions to The Guardian, CX Magazine and many others. Oisin has hosted, moderated, and given keynote presentations at over 200 conferences in every corner of the world, including TEDx and SXSW, where he is a member of the advisory board. He is the host of the Siemens Advanta podcast and the Audio Talks podcast by HARMAN and has worked in a series of leading global technology firms over the past 20 years as Global Product Manager, Country Manager, VP of Technology, Senior Market Development Manager, and Chief Evangelist.

Ronan talks to Mark Hughes the EMEA manager of Chargify. Mark talks about the opening of their new HQ, why they've expanded their footprint to Europe, why they chose to do so in Dublin, who they're looking to hire, how they see the tech landscape in Ireland changing and the future for SaaS companies in particular.

Fascinating conversation with Damian Costello and his conversion to the importance of environmental issues. See more in his article for this year's CongRegation here https://congregation.ie/society-3-0-needs-us-to-win-hearts-rather-than-minds-28-cong20/ and join him at the event also Since last year’s Congregation I have become an environmentalist. For years I’ve been working towards a more empathetic and sustainable society, but recently I’ve come to realise that environmental disasters might destroy civilisation before Society 3.0 can ever emerge. About Damian Costello: Damian Costello runs Decode Innovation and specialises in Innovation in Strategy and Innovation Strategies. Damian is passionate about helping Ireland retain and grow its position in the global economy. Damian has almost 25 years of consulting experience across global multi-nationals to local start-ups in the Medical Device, Pharma, Automotive, Financial Services and ICT sectors. He has delivered successful strategies and breakthrough solutions in Ireland, Europe, North America and Asia. Contacting Damian Costello: You can follow Damian on Twitter, connect with him on LinkedIn, send him an email or see Decode Innovation.

Great, informative interview with Shannon Polson, one of the first female attack helicopter pilots in the US Air Force. We discuss her journey, and her new book in which she shares insights from other women who have also broken records and achieved new successes. At age nineteen, Shannon Huffman Polson became the youngest woman ever to climb Denali, the highest mountain in North America. She went on to reach the summits of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Kilimanjaro and spent more than a decade traveling the world. Yet it was her experience serving as one of the Army's first female attack helicopter pilots, leading two Apache flight platoons-- taking one on deployment to Bosnia-Herzegovina-- and a line company in Korea, that she learned the lessons of leadership she would take with her for the rest of her life. Where did these insights come from? From her own crucibles of experience – and from other women. Writing The Grit Factor, Polson made it her mission to connect with an elite pack of tough, impressive female iconoclasts who shared their candid stories of combat and career. This decorated slate of leaders includes Heather Penney, one of the first female F-16 pilots who was put on a "suicide mission" for 9/11; General Ann Dunwoody, first female four-star general in the Army; Amy McGrath, first woman Marine to fly the F/A-18 in combat and a 2020 candidate for the US Senate – and dozens of other unstoppable women who got there first, including Polson herself. These women led at the highest levels in the most complicated, challenging, and male-dominated organization in the world. Polson brings these voices together, sharing her own life lessons and theirs with storytelling flair, keen insight, and incisive analysis of current, relevant research. See more on her website http://www.shannonpolson.com/ and on her twitter account https://twitter.com/aborderlife

PaoloGallo is a Futurist, global expert in Human Capital, Future of Work, Leadership 4.0 andI CF certified Executive Coach. Paolo is AdjunctProfessor in Leadership and Organizational Behavior at SDA Bocconi Executive Education Milan. PaoloGallo has delivered more than 100 keynotes including: 10 Downing Street, World Economic Forum in Davos, Ferrari, FCA-Fiat, LVMH, Manpower, World Bank, Microsoft, United Nations, Toyota, Ministry of Economics and Finance(Italy) ,LVMH, Citigroup, Blackrock, UBS, ENI, Unicredit, Salesforce, IATA, WTO, WHO, WIPO, British Chamber of Commerce, PWC, IMD, St.Gallen, Antwerp Management Schools, Starbucks and given TEDx and several commencement speeches worldwide. A popular futurist and a recognized thought leader in themes related to global job market megatrends, ethics and AI, Leadership 4.0, personal development, well-being and energy management in a disruptive VUCA world, Paolo has served as Chief Human Resources Officer at the World Economic Forum in Geneva and has also been Chief Learning at The World Bank in Washington DC and Director of Human Resources at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London, with prior experience at the International Finance Corporation in Washington DC and at Citigroup in London, New York and Milan, his hometown.