A Class Act: AI Builders & Founders

Michael Young - CEO MBN Solutions

What does it really take to build and lead a world-class AI or data team?I'm Michael Young, founder and CEO of MBN Solutions in Scotland. After two decades placing top talent across data, AI, and tech, I've seen what actually separates high-performing teams from the rest, and it's rarely what the headlines tell you.A Class Act is where I bring you those stories.  Honest, experience-led conversations with the data and AI leaders making the hard calls right now: who they hire, how they build data science capability, and what real leadership looks like when the technology never stops moving.No hype. No jargon. Just practical insight from people who've actually done it.Whether you're a data leader, a people manager, or hiring in tech, you'll walk away from every episode with something you can use.New episodes twice a month. Follow A Class Act so you never miss one.

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  1. Episode 1

    S3E1: What Does A Forward Deployed Engineer Actually Do? With Tom McLaughlin, Forward Deployed Engineer at The OpenAI Deployment Company

    Every AI company seems to want a forward deployed engineer. Yet very few can explain what they’re actually hiring for. Tom McLaughlin was doing the job before it became one of the hottest titles in AI. He went from software engineering at JP Morgan to Tomoro, the applied AI firm OpenAI acquired in May 2026, and he’s now a forward deployed engineer at The OpenAI Deployment Company, working inside enterprise clients across the UK, Europe and the US. In this conversation, he chats to host Michael about where the FDE role came from, what a customer is really paying for when they hire one, and why so much of the value has moved from writing code to judgment, context and ownership.  If you’re building an AI team, hiring into one, or still working out whether you need forward deployed engineers at all, start here. What you’ll hear: The restaurant story Palantir used to explain the whole idea and the one line the entire model rests onWhy Tom thinks most companies hiring internal FDEs are answering a different question from the one they think they’re askingWhat the customer is actually paying for and whether one person should be carrying all threeWhen forward deployed engineer and forward deployed strategist should be two separate jobsCan one exceptional FDE with a swarm of agents replace a team of five?Why making code cheap doesn’t remove the bottleneckThe line between FDE and plain consultancyWhat is left for the human once agents do the implementationTom’s picture of 2030What to look for when hiring an FDEThe one hiring mistake to avoidGuest InformationTom McLaughlin is a founding forward deployed engineer at The OpenAI Deployment Company, based in Scotland and working with enterprise clients across the UK, Europe and the US. He started out as a software engineer at JP Morgan before joining Tomoro, the applied AI consulting and engineering firm OpenAI acquired in May 2026 as the founding piece of its Deployment Company. Connect with Tom McLaughlin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aibuilder/ Please note: The views expressed by the guest in this episode are their own and do not reflect those of their current or former employers. About Your HostMichael Young is the Founder & CEO of MBN Solutions and host of A Class Act. With nearly two decades of experience helping organisations build high-performing data, analytics and AI teams, he brings frontline insight into what makes exceptional talent and leadership. Connect with MBN SolutionsIf you’re hiring forward deployed engineers, building an AI delivery team, or rethinking what your technical hiring process is actually screening for, MBN partners with organisations to build data and AI teams that deliver. MBN Solutions on LinkedIn — industry updates, projects, and the latest in data, AI and analytics talent. Visit the company page here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mbn-recruitment-solutions For questions, guest recommendations, or to connect: Email: michael@mbnsolutions.com Visit MBN Solutions at www.mbnsolutions.com

    S3E1: What Does A Forward Deployed Engineer Actually Do? With Tom McLaughlin, Forward Deployed Engineer at The OpenAI Deployment Company

  2. Season 3 Trailer

    Season 3 Trailer | Meet the People Building the Future of AI

    Season 3 of A Class Act is here. Every breakthrough in AI begins as an idea almost nobody believes in yet. But brilliant technology doesn't change anything until it survives contact with the real world. So why do some AI products transform entire organisations while others never make it past the demo? And who are the people capable of closing that gap? This season, host Michael Young sits down with the category-defining founders, the scientists moving the field forward, and the forward deployed engineers turning breakthroughs into real-world outcomes. The decisions, the failures, the talent, and the human judgment shaping what comes next. Season 3 opens on Wednesday 16 September with Tom McLaughlin, a founding forward deployed engineer at The OpenAI Deployment Company, on the role every AI company is hiring for. Follow A Class Act wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss an episode. A Class Act is hosted by Michael Young, Founder & CEO of MBN Solutions. Email: michael@mbnsolutions.com Website: www.mbnsolutions.com

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About

What does it really take to build and lead a world-class AI or data team?I'm Michael Young, founder and CEO of MBN Solutions in Scotland. After two decades placing top talent across data, AI, and tech, I've seen what actually separates high-performing teams from the rest, and it's rarely what the headlines tell you.A Class Act is where I bring you those stories.  Honest, experience-led conversations with the data and AI leaders making the hard calls right now: who they hire, how they build data science capability, and what real leadership looks like when the technology never stops moving.No hype. No jargon. Just practical insight from people who've actually done it.Whether you're a data leader, a people manager, or hiring in tech, you'll walk away from every episode with something you can use.New episodes twice a month. Follow A Class Act so you never miss one.

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