The Cairn: Leadership Conversations Shaping the Future

Ben Walker
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The Cairn brings you real conversations with people navigating real challenges. From digital transformation in tertiary education to AI strategy to digital health. We sit down with those steering their industries forward. Each episode explores how leaders think about the future, how AI and technology can meaningfully contribute to organisational outcomes, and what it takes to balance people, process, and technology in a rapidly shifting landscape. Practical thinking. Real outcomes.

Episodes

  1. 8 Jun

    Human Leadership in the Age of AI: High Use, Low Trust

    A conversation with Sanel Tomlinson about trust: how you build it, why it's so hard to earn, and what that means for AI. New Zealanders are some of the most sceptical people in the world about AI, and yet we use it constantly. Sanel has spent a career closing exactly this kind of gap, first in financial reporting, then as one of the architects of New Zealand's world-first climate disclosure standards. This episode gets practical about how you prove a thing is working, the measurement, the return and the consistent message, and asks the harder question underneath it all: can a machine really make a judgement yet, or only something that looks like one?

    Human Leadership in the Age of AI: High Use, Low Trust

  2. 4 May

    Human Leadership in the Age of AI: Can AI Write Your Strategy?

    A conversation with Angela Davis about the craft of strategy, what it actually takes to build one that works, and whether AI can do the heavy lifting. Angela is a strategy consultant who has spent 20-plus years helping organisations find direction. She's also an emerging governance leader, an endurance walker, and someone who thinks deeply about what makes teams and organisations tick. This episode explores the tension between AI's growing capability and the irreplaceable human work at the heart of good strategy: listening, prioritising, and making the hard choices that no algorithm can make for you.

    Human Leadership in the Age of AI: Can AI Write Your Strategy?

  3. 7 Apr

    Human Leadership in the Age of AI: Connecting the Ecosystem

    A conversation with Scott Arrol about what it really takes to build trust and collaboration across a complex health ecosystem. Scott's career spans more than two decades across health, disability, community services, and technology. He moved from business ownership into health leadership at Radius Health Group and Kindercare, spent five years running community services at Healthcare of New Zealand, then led NZHIT for nearly seven years where he turned it into the peak body for NZ's digital health sector. From there he was chief executive at Dementia NZ and then MND NZ, before returning to HiNZ as conference programme director and then interim CEO for 12 months. He's now a Life Member of HiNZ and works independently as a freelance executive, director, and advisor, with governance roles across telehealth, disability, and digital health. The thread through all of it is the same: connecting people who don't normally talk to each other and building something that holds. This conversation explores how Scott thinks about ecosystem leadership, the human skills that hold a sector together, and what digital health can teach the rest of us about leading through complexity.

    Human Leadership in the Age of AI: Connecting the Ecosystem

  4. 2 Mar

    Human Leadership in the Age of AI: Health's AI Frontier

    This episode explores how the health workforce is navigating the collision of a finite, slow-to-train workforce with rapidly advancing AI tools that promise to reshape primary care delivery. Damon Campbell brings a unique vantage point as someone leading digital and operational strategy across Otago and Southland's primary care network, from rural sole-GP practices to large multi-site operations. Listeners will gain practical insight into where AI is already changing clinical practice, what is blocking broader adoption, and why human leadership is more important than ever.

    Human Leadership in the Age of AI: Health's AI Frontier

  5. 2 Feb

    Human Leadership in the Age of AI: Skilling, Pivoting, Thriving

    We're living through the biggest career disruption since the digital revolution. New Zealand is facing a historic brain drain (127,800 people left in 2024–2025), yet the story isn't just about people running away, it's about professionals pivoting intentionally toward different futures. This conversation explores what strategic pivoting looks like, how professionals skill up and navigate fractional/portfolio careers, why values matter more when old career models break, and what it means to thrive, not just survive in an AI-augmented world.

    Human Leadership in the Age of AI: Skilling, Pivoting, Thriving

  6. 5 Jan

    Human Leadership in the Age of AI: Why Neurodiversity Is a Leadership Strength

    When Darryl Munro got his ADHD diagnosis at 52 after decades in senior technology leadership, it wasn't a crisis. It was a revelation. It reframed his approach to how he leads teams, designs systems, and thinks about technology adoption. Today, as Head of Architecture at Silver Fern Farms, he's building technology organisations where neurodivergent minds don't just survive, they thrive. In an age where AI is reshaping work, Darryl's insight is clear: the organisations that win will be those that understand how different minds think, solve problems, and lead. This is the story of human leadership in the age of AI.

  7. 08/12/2025

    Human Leadership in the Age of AI: Story Intelligence with Gabrielle Dolan (Ral)

    An authentic exploration of human leadership and communication in a world awash with AI-generated content. Gabrielle Dolan ("Ral") brings decades of global experience in strategic storytelling to challenge how leaders and teams stay real, build trust, and use new technology to enhance, not erode their stories.

  8. 25/11/2025

    Leading with AI: How Tertiary Institutions Can Innovate Responsibly

    A thoughtful exploration of AI adoption in New Zealand tertiary education, examining the journey from initial exploration through to responsible implementation. The conversation will explore the balance between innovation and governance, the role of human judgement alongside AI tools, and practical wisdom for institutions navigating digital transformation. Today's guest is: Andy Crossman - Digital Director at Otago Polytechnic

  • 8 Episodes

About

The Cairn brings you real conversations with people navigating real challenges. From digital transformation in tertiary education to AI strategy to digital health. We sit down with those steering their industries forward. Each episode explores how leaders think about the future, how AI and technology can meaningfully contribute to organisational outcomes, and what it takes to balance people, process, and technology in a rapidly shifting landscape. Practical thinking. Real outcomes.

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