Human In The Loop

Sir Graeme Dingle KNZM, MBE and Jo-anne Wilkinson, Lady Dingle CNZM, LLB, are adventurers, leaders and passionate champions for young people in Aotearoa.Sir Graeme is one of New Zealand’s most recognised explorers and mountaineers, known for decades of challenging expeditions and first ascents around the world. Beyond adventure, he’s also an author and lifelong advocate for resilience, teamwork and pushing beyond perceived limits.Jo-anne is an accomplished adventurer in her own right, a qualified lawyer, and an experienced governance leader across the arts, public and social sectors. Her work has consistently focused on strengthening communities and creating opportunities for others to thrive.Together, they co-founded the Graeme Dingle Foundation in 1995, a youth development charity with a bold vision: to make Aotearoa the best place in the world to be young. Through evidence based programmes delivered in schools and communities, the Foundation supports young people to build confidence, resilience and life skills that set them up for the future.We discuss:· the impetus for starting this foundation, and why there's more work to be done· the social responsibility people with platforms have to change the world for better· the impact that programmes like these have on the lives of children, as well as their mentorsDingle Foundation: https://dinglefoundation.org.nz/LinkedIn: https://nz.linkedin.com/company/dingle-foundationInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dinglefoundation/?hl=enAnd that wraps up this special episode, as part of Podcasthon. If you enjoyed it, visit https://podcasthon.org/ to discover many other charities through the voices and talents of amazing podcasters!Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzL

Scott Bishop is Chief Commercial Officer at Awanui Group, New Zealand's largest diagnostic testing provider, where he drives growth strategy, data innovation, and new service development. Originally from the United States, Scott has been in Aotearoa since 2015 and has built a reputation for strategic, hands-on leadership across some of the country's most recognisable brands.Before joining Awanui, Scott served as Chief Innovation Officer at Z Energy, where he led the Innovation Refinery and launched customer-focused solutions like Fastlane and Sharetank. He’s also held senior innovation and product roles at IAG, Amazon and Microsoft. He's known for coaching teams, launching new products, and helping organisations adapt to emerging market challenges.We discuss:· How to convince leadership teams to prioritise innovation - not as a side project, but as a strategic necessity· The importance of keeping the customer at the centre of innovation, and then how to go on to educate them to adopt new technologies/initiatives· The most effective thing in helping everyday employees think and act like entrepreneurs· What New Zealand companies most need to evolve to remain relevant on the global stageBODYiQ: https://bodyiq.co.nz/nzScott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottkbishop/Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzL

This Loop Back is a special episode where we touch on the challenges and opportunities for women in tech, in advance of this month's International Women's Day. RUSH Head of People & Performance, Heather Polaschek, shares some recent stats and observations about what's working and what needs more work.For more info and resources check out:IWD United Nations: https://www.un.org/en/observances/womens-dayWomen in Tech Aotearoa: nz.linkedin.com/company/women-in-tech-nzHeather on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-polaschek-b47b7a47/Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzL

Craig Boxall is Chief Product Officer & Founder of Nexties, an education technology venture focused on helping learners and organisations build future-ready skills. Alongside this, he is involved with Liven Labs, where he brings together his experience in AI-driven product innovation, venture building, and digital strategy. His work at Nexties and Liven Labs builds on nearly two decades of founding and scaling digital businesses, including Pixel Fusion and Onceit, plus senior product leadership roles in AI and Web3 companies.We discuss:· the functionality, technology, and philosophy of the Nexties platform· modern support tools and a new approach to career guidance · the undeniable impact of being able to envision a future Nexties: https://nexties.com/Craig on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigboxall/Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzL

In this episode, Alaina, Danu, and Hamish trade their usual guest format for a freewheeling conversation about what actually mattered in AI and tech over the past year, and what was just noise.From infrastructure realities like RAM shortages and power grid constraints to the hype around solid-state batteries at CES, we try to separate genuine breakthroughs from marketing spin including:· the evolution of robotics (Boston Dynamics, anyone?)· the messy ethics of training data collection· why cybersecurity in New Zealand still feels like we're living in 2015The discussion veers through disaster preparedness, the surprising complexity of getting robots to walk, and why slowing down - whether it's your reading habits or your AI implementation - might be the smartest strategy for 2026.Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzL

Sam Ramlu and Euge Eastlake are creative technology entrepreneurs and leaders, with more than two decades creating digital, AR, VR and immersive experiences. Starting with creative technology studio Method in 2003, their portfolio of businesses now includes AR/VR game studio M Theory and game development studios Might Eyes and Mad Carnival.​Mighty Eyes’ award-winning, story-driven VR game 'Wanderer' is a time‑travel adventure game where the player gets to rewrite history to save a ruined world, and Mad Carnival releases point and click adventure 'How Was Your Day?' later this year.  ​We discuss:· The push and pull of community in building, launching and maintaining a successful game· Aotearoa's successful and growing gaming industry· Where AI has a role to play in game development & design (and where it doesn't)Sam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samramlu/Euge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eugeneeastlake/Mighty Eyes Games: https://www.mightyeyes.games/M Theory: https://www.mtheoryvr.com/Mad Carnival: https://www.madcarnivalgames.com/Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzL

In May 2022 we hosted our first ever "live podcast" during Techweek before we officially had a podcast... And we were so lucky to have the incredible Lucy Blakiston from SYSCA as our guest, in conversation with Danu.Back then events were being paused due to COVID (as we found out first hand), AI was a much smaller part of the conversation, and Luce was still in her anonymous phase!Fast forward to 2026: it's been a long time since we had to cancel an event due to COVID, AI is almost all the conversation, and Lucy dropped the anonymity - which has given us the reason to finally release this conversation. If you don't know who Lucy Blakiston is, she's the CEO and editorial director of SYSCA, a media brand that helps mainly young people make sense of global news and online culture in an accessible, informal way. She's also the co-author of “Make It Make Sense”, a bestselling collection of personal and cultural essays written with her friend and collaborator Bel Hawkins. She's also a semi-finalist for the 2026 Young New Zealander of the Year.SYSCA website: https://www.shityoushouldcareabout.com/SYSCA substack: https://shityoushouldcareabout.substack.com/Lucy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyblakiston/Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzL

Holly Knill is a product development, commercial and customer value specialist with a recently completed Master's in AI for productivity improvement from academy EX.She’s worked with corporates and start-ups seeking growth and sits at the intersection of finance, strategy, product, policy, sales and technology.Specifically, she’s been Chief Consumer Officer at 2Degrees, Group Director of IP & Content Products at Foxtel, Director of Product, Audience & Tech at Seven West Media, and Product Development Director at Sky UK.Holly also has a postgraduate degree in multimedia, animation and UX, is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Directors, is currently Facilitator for Springboard Trust and a local school Board member.We discuss:· The appalling statistics about productivity in New Zealand· The barriers to AI adoption in New Zealand and opportunities for growth· Strategies to lift performance and identifying solutions to reverse NZ’s declining productivityHolly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollyknill/Follow us on Instagram: @humaninthelooppodcastFind us on LinkedIn:Alaina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaina-luxmoore/Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafriedlander/Danu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuabey/Sign up to The RUSH newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmARzL