15: Developer to Data Architect: Greg Potter on Data Modelling, AI and Governance

In this episode, Douglas sits down with Marina Murphy, Analytics Delivery Manager at Murdoch University, to explore what happens when someone who swore off uni straight out of school ends up with an MBA, a Master of Predictive Analytics and two teams at a university leading the charge on data and AI. With a career spanning 30 years in IT, from becoming the accidental troubleshooter when a manufacturer installed its first computer system to implementing software across Australia and New Zealand, running a support department in finance and even running her own business, Marina brings a grounded, people-first perspective on what it actually takes to make data and AI stick inside a large organisation.

In this episode, Doug sits down with Darryl Wells, a Perth leader in building data platforms, digital products and enterprise architecture at BHP, to unpack what it actually takes to run data and AI at enterprise scale, and why the human side of the job matters just as much as the technical side. With a career spanning software engineering, consulting and leadership roles before moving into enterprise architecture and eventually building out BHP's data engineering and enablement capability from the ground up, Darryl brings a rare view across the full stack, from strategy down to the nuts and bolts. Doug and Darryl cover the questions that matter most right now:- What actually separates solution architecture, enterprise architecture and data architecture from each other;- Why AI engineers have evolved out of the traditional data scientist role and what that shift really looks like day to day;- How BHP is navigating the line between probabilistic AI solutions and problems that genuinely need to stay deterministic;- Why explainability was the biggest unlock from his Master's in AI, and how it directly improved his model results;- and what Australian Privacy Principle 6 means for agentic AI systems making their own calls on how to use personal data. They also go deep on the bigger picture; the T-shaped skills debate between generalists and specialists, why soft skills are becoming just as critical as technical depth, how to keep your hands on the tools as you move into leadership, and whether AI is heading for a boom or a bust in the years ahead. Whether you're an aspiring data leader, someone weighing up specialising versus generalising or a data professional trying to figure out where privacy law needs to catch up to AI, this one's got plenty of takes! Want to learn more about Industry Inner Join? Industry Inner Join is a community initiative that brings together Perth data and AI professionals to connect and share industry insights. Our aim is to uplift data literacy across Perth and Australia. We host quarterly in-person and online events, bringing together analysts, engineers and data leaders from across industries to share knowledge and build community. Powered by DR Analytics Recruitment - helping businesses hire top data talent. Building people | Building community | Building businesses

In this solo episode, Doug steps away from the interview chair to give you the full picture of Perth's data and AI job market. He breaks down the core roles, real salary ranges, the sectors hiring right now and the three ways people actually land jobs here. He also shares his honest take on how AI is reshaping careers in data, what's in your control and what isn't, and how to position yourself for a promotion. No guest this time, just the unfiltered view from someone who talks to hiring managers and candidates every day!

In this episode, Doug sits down with Tim Sondalini, Head of Data & Analytics at Perth Airport, to explore what happens when a law graduate with a civic heart finds his calling at the intersection of technology and problem-solving and never really stops building things on the side. With a career spanning management consulting at Deloitte, data team builds at Water Corporation and Hesperia, and now Perth Airport, Tim brings a refreshingly squiggly perspective on what it actually takes to lead in the data space without ever having been a programmer. Doug and Tim cover the questions that matter most right now: Why translation skills beat technical depth when building and hiring data teams; How the $1 Sprint compresses an entire innovation cycle into 90 minutes; What the printing press can teach us about surviving the AI revolution; and why information governance is the most underrated career move a senior analyst can make. They also go deep on the bigger picture; whether AI is a net good, how open source models are quietly becoming the scariest thing in the room, why the demo beats the memo every single time and the advice Tim gives to anyone trying to carve out a career in data without a traditional path. Whether you're a data professional gunning for your first leadership role, a builder obsessed with getting to market fast or someone figuring out how to stay relevant in a world that changed again last weekend, this one's got plenty of takes! Want to learn more about Industry Inner Join? Industry Inner Join is a community initiative that brings together Perth data and AI professionals to connect and share industry insights. Our aim is to uplift data literacy across Perth and Australia. We host quarterly in-person and online events, bringing together analysts, engineers and data leaders from across industries to share knowledge and build community. Powered by DR Analytics Recruitment. Building people | Building community | Building businesses

In this episode, Doug sits down with Kevin Brown, CEO of Icetana AI. An ASX-listed self-learning surveillance software company built right here in Perth, to explore what happens when you put serious AI behind thousands of cameras, and what that means for safety, privacy and the future of security operations. With a career spanning IT leadership, product and operations across VGW and beyond, Kevin brings refreshingly unfiltered take on building AI-powered technology, scaling a global business from Perth and navigating the ethical edge of surveillance tech. Doug and Kevin cover the questions that matter most right now: how Icetana's anomaly detection is already preventing slip-and-fall claims worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, why the Bondi attack exposed a systemic gap in how we monitor public spaces, what an AI operating system actually looks like inside a leadership team and why Kevin runs an uncensored LLM at home just to get an unfiltered answer. They also go deep on the bigger picture; AI alignment risks, longevity escape velocity, whether AI will create more jobs than it destroys and the advice Kevin gives his own sons about building a career in a world that's changing faster than any of us can track. Whether you're a data or AI professional, a founder navigating scale or someone just trying to figure out where to place your bets, this one's got plenty takes! Want to learn more about Industry Inner Join? Industry Inner Join is a community initiative that brings together Perth data and AI professionals to connect and share industry insights. Our aim is to uplift data literacy across Perth and Australia. We host quarterly in-person and online events, bringing together analysts, engineers and data leaders from across industries to share knowledge and build community. Powered by DR Analytics Recruitment; helping businesses hire top data talent. Building people | Building community | Building businesses