On the lighter side of things , we ask the industry experts what makes them tick . . . .

Without question , it was convincing the single most amazing human on the planet to be my wife in 1999 . It was memorable AND my life ’ s greatest achievement ! In all sincerity , having a co-pilot in life like Amy has enabled both of us to pursue our dreams . For me , this is building amazing software and companies ; she helps so many people as a mind / body health practitioner . We ’ re a team and I am blessed .

What first made you think of a career in technology ?

The Apple // e . In eighth grade , our school district received these and I caught the technology bug while learning how to do BASIC programming . It was an experience that never left me and from my first job to today , I have always been working with software , particularly SaaS companies . The creativity in technology is limitless .

What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position ?

I ’ ve read all the books and management propaganda and I keep coming back to the philosophy my gut has always told me which is : Hire well and then get out of their way .

You need to set outcomes and if they are clearly defined , the rest is execution . The rest is the employee ’ s vision , their failures , learnings and subsequent corrections and evolution . That ’ s pretty cool to witness . Equally , when learnings aren ’ t adopted and there is a lack of vision and execution isn ’ t where you need it to be , you practice ‘ management ’. When all else fails , you move on .

What do you think has emerged as the technology trend of 2023 and why ?

The 2023 trend is most ubiquitously AI . Now , there are trends and there are movements . I think we can say that Blockchain was a hot trend in 2018 – 19 that took hold of the community very intensely . I think the technology warrants continued thought and investment , but we quickly realised its issues .

Generative AI seems to be a reincarnation of the emotive , almost visceral , response to the technology ’ s impact on society , but I think this is going to move faster and deeper . We ’ re not talking about trying to

Generative AI will be pervasive . It will be absolutely impactful in our personal and work lives . It is here to stay .

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