Share

The Techne Connect
Stuart Landesberg, Founder and CEO of Seneca
In this episode of The Techne Connect Behind the Vision, Stuart Landesberg, Founder and CEO of Seneca, shares his journey from serial entrepreneur to building autonomous wildfire response technology in California.
Stuart explains how personal experience with wildfires led him to create Seneca, a company developing autonomous suppression drones designed to stop fires while they are still small. He outlines the Argo One system, how it supports firefighters rather than replacing them, and why early intervention is critical to protecting communities.
The conversation covers mission-led entrepreneurship, building startups without speed limits, lessons learned from past ventures, and why wildfire prevention is one of the most solvable large-scale problems through technology.
Thank you for listening to The Techne Connect Podcast - where we go behind the tech and ahead of the curve.
But we don’t just share stories, we help build them. At Techne Talent, we connect ambitious people with opportunities across the very industries we feature. If you’re inspired by what you hear, speak to us today about where your skills could take you.
👉 Don’t miss an episode: Follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
📸 For behind-the-scenes content, follow us on Instagram: @techne_talent
💼 Explore opportunities and connect with us on LinkedIn: Techne Talent
Inspire your future. Plug into what’s next.
More episodes
View all episodes

Puneeth Kalavase, Technology Leader in the Clean Energy Transition
32:56|In this episode of Behind the Power, we sit down with Puneeth Kalavase to explore how grid scale batteries, software, and data science are enabling higher penetration of renewables. They discuss grid stability, AI driven power demand, VPPs, EV integration, and the changing role of storage in modern power systems.Puneeth also shares his personal journey from physics and climate research into operating large scale battery assets across the US and Australia, plus the technical skills and hands on experience engineers need as energy systems continue to scale.
Rob DeMillo, CEO & Co-Founder of Sophia Space
29:56|In this episode we speak with Rob DeMillo, CEO and co-founder of Sophia Space, about commercialising compute in orbit.Rob shares his journey from JPL and the FAA into a 30 year entrepreneurial career spanning media, cloud computing and now space infrastructure. He explains how Sophia Space emerged from research into space based power and evolved into a company building high performance, passively cooled servers for low Earth orbit.The conversation explores why orbital data centres are needed, how falling launch costs are reshaping the space economy, and what it takes to move from academic concept to commercial reality. Rob also reflects on founder trade offs, common startup mistakes, and why space today feels like the early days of the internet.
Daniel Li, Clean Technology Manufacturing Executive
54:21|In this episode we speak with Daniel Li, a clean energy executive with experience building solar and battery manufacturing facilities across the US and Europe. Daniel shares the moment that shifted his work from job to mission, after reading his son’s words about solar and the responsibility to leave a better world.They explore what it takes to build and ramp factories, how to lead teams across different cultures, and why spoken communication beats email when stakes are high. Daniel also lays out how AI is changing battery R and D and factory operations, from faster materials discovery to the rise of autonomous manufacturing systems. The conversation closes with practical guidance for the next generation, focusing on physics and materials fundamentals, critical thinking, and AI literacy for the clean energy future.
Andy Blatchford, VP of Engineering at AV
46:23|In this episode of The Techne Connect, Andy Blatchford shares his journey from farm-raised mechanical engineer to Chief Engineer in AeroVironment’s Precision Strike and Defensive Solutions group.Andy walks through his path from Raytheon Missile Systems into the drone space, including what he learned from flight testing, systems engineering rigour, and leading complex programmes under pressure. He explains why Switchblade 600 became a defining challenge, from surviving the tube-launch transition to delivering reliable guidance, navigation, target tracking, and terminal performance.The conversation covers where defence innovation is heading, including mass deployment, contested RF links, cybersecurity, MBSE, autonomy shifting from man-in-the-loop to man-off-the-loop, and the growing importance of counter-drone defence against swarms. Andy also shares what skill sets young engineers should build, and why defence offers fast feedback, high impact, and serious technical depth.
Niall McGrath, CEO at Robocean
39:06|In this episode of Behind the Robot, we speak with Niall McGrath, founder and CEO of Robocean.Niall shares how Robocean uses amphibious robots to scale seagrass restoration, helping organisations meet environmental compensation requirements. He also covers founder lessons, early field trials, and why robotics is becoming essential for marine recovery at scale.This episode offers clear insight into robotics for environmental impact and building technology with real world purpose.
Zamiyad Dar, Senior Director Energy Storage at Pivot Energy
01:08:43|In this episode of Behind the Power we speak with Zamiyad Dar, Senior Director of Energy Storage at Pivot Energy.Zamiyad shares his path from power systems engineering in Pakistan to a PhD in the US, then into roles at GE, New York ISO, Entergy, and finally Pivot Energy. He explains how early work integrating a large scale flywheel energy storage system shaped his confidence, and why taking risks and learning through failure became central to his approach.The conversation covers how grids are changing under rising demand from data centres, why market and interconnection processes need to catch up, and how storage fits into the system. Zamiyad also outlines the reality gap between planning models and the equipment available in the market, plus the challenge of hiring experienced storage talent.
Andrew Rush, Co-Founder and CEO of Star Catcher
42:01|In this episode we speak with Andrew Rush, co-founder and CEO of Star Catcher, about building the world’s first energy grid in space.Andrew shares his path from physics into patent law, then into space entrepreneurship, including his experience scaling Made In Space. He explains why customers buy capability, not technology, and how Star Catcher breaks an infrastructure scale vision into practical execution milestones.The conversation explores why launch cost reductions are only part of the story, how mission cost becomes the next barrier, and how space to space power beaming could extend satellite life, increase available power, and support new commercial use cases. Andrew also discusses the realities of startup life, lessons carried forward from prior ventures, and the culture Star Catcher is building as it prepares for its first on orbit demonstrations.This episode offers a clear view of space infrastructure, commercial adoption, and what it takes to move fast in a hardware led company.
Andrew Chang, Junior Partner & COO at Rsquared
01:15:18|In this episode we spoke with Andrew Chang from Rsquared about investing in national resilience and what it means in practice.Andrew shares his route from Army counterintelligence into startups, cybersecurity, and building an incubator that helped founders work with government, before joining R Squared. He explains why the firm avoids being labelled a pure defence fund, and how their thesis spans infrastructure, manufacturing, biotech, cyber, and supply chain resilience across the US and Western Europe.The conversation covers how “infrastructure” now includes IoT security, why critical minerals are moving up the venture agenda, and where counter drone and underwater autonomy sit in both defence and commercial markets. Andrew also breaks down the biggest hurdle for defence focused founders, learning procurement and contracting systems, and why Europe faces extra complexity across fragmented rules.