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© 2026 A Class Act - Navigating the AI Landscape in 2026
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What does it really take to build world-class tech teams and lead with impact in today’s data-driven AI landscape?
I’m Michael Young from MBN Solutions and after two decades placing top talent across data, AI, and tech, I’ve seen the real stories behind high-performing teams.
On A Class Act, we go beyond buzzwords. You’ll hear real life, experience-led conversations with the AI and data leaders shaping digital transformation - those hiring top tech talent, building data science capability, and leading with purpose.
Whether you're a data leader, people manager, or recruiter, join us for honest, human-first insights into hiring, leadership, strategy, and building great teams in AI and data.
Follow A Class Act for honest, beyond the hype leadership conversations in the AI, data and tech space.
17 Episodes
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Welcome to A Class Act: Conversations in Data & Leadership. I’m Michael, and after nearly two decades leading data talent acquisition with MBN Solutions, I’ve seen firsthand that exceptional teams don’t just happen - they’re built. They’re crafted by placing the right people in the right roles, at exactly the right time. This podcast pulls back the curtain on what it takes to build and lead high-performing teams in today’s data-driven world. Each episode, we sit down with the leader...
What does it take to thrive across 35 years in data leadership? And how do you build high-performing teams – not just for now, but for the future? In this inaugural episode of A Class Act: Conversations in Data & Leadership, Michael Young sits down with a true veteran of the data world: Graeme McDermott, Chief Data Officer at Tempcover. From his early actuarial days to leading enterprise data transformations through five company acquisitions, Graeme brings insights into what makes a...
What does it take to build high-performing teams in today’s product and tech landscape - and how do you keep your own leadership evolving in the process? In this episode of A Class Act: Conversations in Data & Leadership, Shannon McKechnie, Managing Director at MBN Solutions, is joined by Adriana Ignat - a Pproduct Management and Design leader and an AI specialist, whose career includes more than a decade at Google and roles leading product innovation in high-growth, data rich M&A-dri...
What does it take to lead with trust, earn credibility, and build exceptional teams in today’s data-driven world? In this episode, Michael Young sits down with Elizabeth Hollinger, a data and technology leader whose career spans actuarial roots, enterprise transformation, and building award-winning teams. From feeling out of her depth in her first technology project at Deloitte, to leading cutting-edge data strategy at Aggreko, Elizabeth opens up about the real lessons that shaped her l...
What does it really take to lead change not just in your company, but across an entire industry? In this episode of A Class Act: Conversations in Data & Leadership, Michael Young speaks with Stephen Ingledew, Chair of FinTech Scotland and a driving force behind one of the UK’s most respected fintech ecosystems. Stephen shares his 40+ year journey through financial services from traditional corporate roles to building a 250+ firm innovation cluster. Along the way, he unpacks what lea...
What does it take to lead when the pressure is on? How do you inspire teams to stay aligned in the face of complexity, change, and uncertainty? In this episode of A Class Act: Conversations in Data & Leadership, host Shannon McKechnie is joined by David Goodacre OBE, a Senior Executive, Board Member, and experienced leader with significant experience in strategy, transformation, and operational delivery across the military and corporate sectors. David shares his real-world leadershi...
She almost didn’t apply. Gillian Docherty is one of the most influential figures in Scotland’s data and AI landscape - but she almost didn’t take the job that changed everything. Recently named CEO of the Year at the DigiTech Awards, Gillian served as CEO of The Data Lab, Scotland’s national Innovation Centre for data and AI. She’s also a TEDx speaker and a vocal advocate for purpose-led leadership and inclusive tech. In this conversation with Michael on A Class Act, Gillian shares her journe...
What would you do if your first day as CEO started with no funding and ended with national lockdown? That was the reality for Jude McCorry, now CEO of Scotland’s Cyber and Fraud Centre. In this episode of A Class Act, Jude joins Shannon for a conversation about her journey from Ireland to Scotland. She left a successful career in Ireland, landed in Scotland with no job, and rebuilt not just her career but a network, a reputation, and an organisation that now leads national cyber resilience ef...
What can AI teach us about leadership when you’re a decade ahead of the curve? In this episode of A Class Act: Conversations in Data and Leadership, host Shannon speaks with David Meikle, founder of BloxWeaver and former CTO at Lingo24. David reflects on the leadership lessons he learned introducing AI and automation into the translation industry nearly ten years before most businesses began facing the same challenges. From the fear of job loss to the need for psychological safety, David shar...
In this episode, host Michael is joined by Kent Mackenzie, Group Chief Operating Officer at Corlytics and former Deloitte Partner. Kent’s career has taken him from pulling apart ATMs as a curious young technologist, to leading Deloitte’s global FinTech and RegTech practice, and now to scaling one of the leading names in regulatory technology. You’ll hear: Why “you don’t need to have all the answers” is one of the most powerful leadership lessonsKent’s framework for building high-performing te...
What if you could sit down with an engineer who’s building AI partnerships alongside the top companies shaping the future like OpenAI, NVIDIA, and Microsoft? That’s exactly what we’re doing today. In this Season 2 opener, host Michael Young sits down with Tom McLaughlin, Forward Deployed Engineer at Tomoro. Their partnerships with the pioneers behind the world’s most powerful models mean clients get early access and deep integrations that keep them months ahead of the curve. Tom’s journey has...
I’ve been in this market for nearly 20 years and in that time, I’ve helped place over 4,000 senior leaders in data, analytics, and AI roles around the world from the dot com boom to big data. What I’ve learned is this: technology isn’t the hard part. Leadership and implementation is. That’s why we’re back with Season 2 of A Class Act, and this time, we’re calling it Navigating the AI Landscape - because right now, it really does feel like uncharted territory. In this season, you’ll ...
Every organisation is racing to adopt AI but capability isn’t just about technology. It’s about people. In this episode, host Shannon speaks with Emma Rattray, an AI Engineer whose journey from chemical engineering to software development and AI research offers an honest look at what the next generation of AI talent truly values and how forward-thinking leaders can attract and retain it. After earning a fully funded scholarship for her master’s in Artificial Intelligence at the Universi...
Most enterprise AI strategies fail not because the technology isn’t ready, but because organisations are still operating with 20th-century models. In this episode, Global Chief Digital, Data & AI Officer Eddie Short breaks down what’s really going wrong, and what leaders must do instead to build AI into the DNA of their organisations. With over 30 years of experience as a Fortune 1000 CTO/CDO, Big Four partner, and transformation leader across telecoms, retail, FMCG, healthcare and privat...
![Hiring and Building Exceptional Applied AI Teams that Work with Andre Balleyguier of Snorkel AI [MUST LISTEN]](https://storage.buzzsprout.com/ffx5krs2i7yc7o4czg3c6z1dtr1s?.jpg "Hiring and Building Exceptional Applied AI Teams that Work with Andre Balleyguier of Snorkel AI [MUST LISTEN]")
In this episode of A Class Act, Michael Young, CEO of MBN Solutions speaks with Andre Balleyguier, AI Solutions Leader at Snorkel AI, formerly at DataRobot, and recognised by DataIQ as one of the UK’s most influential figures in data and AI. Andre has spent around fifteen years working with data and more than a decade in applied AI. Today, he leads global AI solutions engineering at Snorkel AI, helping major organisations deliver end-to-end applied AI systems using technologies su...
What if you could sit down with the Head of AI inside one of the UK’s most regulated digital banks and hear the truth about what actually works and what leaders need to get right? That’s exactly what we explore in this episode of A Class Act. Shannon is joined by Dr. Russell Collingham, Head of AI & Data Science at Atom Bank, and one of the most experienced AI leaders in UK financial services. Russell has worked in AI since the 1990s. He began his career as a lecturer and researcher...
What’s actually happening with LLMs in 2026 and what does it mean for business leaders? In this episode of A Class Act, Michael is joined by Richard Bownes, Head of AI Solutions at Vector8, for a discussion on how large language models are evolving and why the biggest shift isn’t capability, but consistency, reliability, and system design. Rather than chasing the next capability jump, Richard explains why we’re seeing a slowdown in headline performance gains alongside an improvement in consis...
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