Dive back in with Martin Cooperwaite!

Martin Cooperwaite, co-founder of Kiandra, takes us from his early days of coding adventure games as a kid to leading one of Australia’s top software companies. Inspired by his dad’s source code books, Martin’s passion for tech evolved from childhood tinkering to co-founding Kiandra with a friend in 1995, starting with local projects and growing into a global digital transformation leader with offices across Melbourne, Perth, and Toronto.

Martin shares how simple beginnings led to high-impact projects in health, finance, and government, with an emphasis on client care and innovative solutions that have earned Kiandra over 18 awards. We discuss Agile practices, responsible AI, and low-code platforms, while Martin reflects on the role of perseverance, collaboration, and a human-centered approach to tech-driven success.

Join us for insights into building a legacy in software while staying hands-on and true to mission.

In this episode we cover:

0:00 Software Development Journey and Business Success

9:49 Early Days of Business Growth

21:14 Evolution of Agile Practices and Governance

28:53 Tech Evolution and Responsible AI Use

35:59 Navigating AI use in Software Development

45:41 Innovative Projects and Financial Insights

53:38 Leveraging AI for Business Growth

and more

To connect with Martin:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/martincooperwaite/

https://www.kiandra.com.au/

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Agile Ideas! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with someone who might benefit from our discussions. Remember to rate us on your preferred podcast platform and follow us on social media for updates and more insightful content.

Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd really appreciate it if you could share it with your friends and rate us. Let's spread the #AgileIdeas together!

We'd like to hear any feedback. www.agilemanagementoffice.com/contact

Don't miss out on exclusive access to special events, checklists, and blogs that are not available everywhere. Subscribe to our newsletter now at www.agilemanagementoffice.com/subscribe.

You can also find us on most social media channels by searching 'Agile Ideas'.

Follow me, your host, on LinkedIn - go to Fatimah Abbouchi - www.linkedin.com/in/fatimahabbouchi/

For all things Agile Ideas and to stay connected, visit our website below. It's your one-stop destination for all our episodes, blogs, and more. We hope you found today's episode enlightening. Until next time, keep innovating and exploring new Agile Ideas!


Learn more about podcast host Fatimah Abbouchi
...

Dive back in with this insightful episode!

Ever wondered how to transform your PMO into a strategic powerhouse? Join us for an enlightening conversation with Laura Barnard, a trailblazer in integrating PMOs and project management with organisational strategy. Laura shares her extensive experience working with industry giants like JP Morgan, LinkedIn, IBM, and Amazon.

Reflecting on the evolution of PMOs from the chaotic early dot-com days to today's strategic assets, Laura sheds light on the transition from technical roles to project management and the essential advice for balancing personal and professional lives.

Moreover, we discuss PMO leaders' challenges in proving their value to executives and the necessity of continuous value delivery through agile-based methodologies. Laura emphasises the importance of alignment with business goals, effective reporting systems, and addressing the human element in transformational efforts.

In this episode, we cover:

• 16:04 Evolution of PMO Leadership
• 23:25 Improving PMO Impact and Value
• 32:18 Strategy Alignment for Project Success
• 38:29 Prioritization and Executive Communication for Transformation
• 44:26 Organizational Change Management Collaboration
• 49:51 Embracing Organizational Change Through People
• 1:01:24 Driving Accountability and Progress Through Reporting
• 1:04:42 Simplifying Decisions and PMO Leadership
• 1:13:11 Journey to Sharing PMO Strategies
• 1:24:57 Inspiring Action for Impact Drivers

You can find Laura at:

https://pmostrategies.com/

Her book is here: https://www.amazon.com/IMPACT-Engine-Accelerating-Strategy-Transformation/dp/1774584522

https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurabarnard/

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Agile Ideas! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with someone who might benefit from our discussions. Remember to rate us on your preferred podcast platform and follow us on social media for updates and more insightful content.

Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd really appreciate it if you could share it with your friends and rate us. Let's spread the #AgileIdeas together!

We'd like to hear any feedback. www.agilemanagementoffice.com/contact

Don't miss out on exclusive access to special events, checklists, and blogs that are not available everywhere. Subscribe to our newsletter now at www.agilemanagementoffice.com/subscribe.

You can also find us on most social media channels by searching 'Agile Ideas'.

Follow me, your host, on LinkedIn - go to Fatimah Abbouchi - www.linkedin.com/in/fatimahabbouchi/

For all things Agile Ideas and to stay connected, visit our website below. It's your one-stop destination for all our episodes, blogs, and more. We hope you found today's episode enlightening. Until next time, keep innovating and exploring new Agile Ideas!


Learn more about podcast host Fatimah Abbouchi
...

What does it take to run a global virtual conference with 1,000+ attendees, 75+ volunteers, live translation, and zero paywalls?

In this behind-the-scenes episode, Fatimah Abbouchi (Founder & CEO of AMO) is joined by her co-founder of The PMO Leader community, Joe Pusz—better known as PMO Joe—to unpack how a grassroots movement became a global platform for PMO leadership, learning, and real delivery outcomes.

Together, they explore how The PMO Leader went from a one-hour webinar to a 20-hour, follow-the-sun event built entirely by volunteers—where project managers, executives, and first-time speakers all had a voice. From detailed runbooks to backup decks and real-time incident management, they share what worked, what nearly broke, and what it taught them about leadership at scale.

The conversation also dives into PMBOK 8, the shift from “governance-heavy” to value-first thinking, and why today’s PMO leaders need to integrate deeply with strategy, operations, and change. Joe shares insights from the PMI Global Summit, the current job market for project managers, and how sponsors are shifting from brand exposure to meaningful community investment.

This episode highlights what happens when community drives the agenda: bottom-up strategy, multilingual inclusion, practical tools like PMOpedia, and mentoring programs that now span 40+ countries. If you care about making PMOs more visible, valuable, and connected to real outcomes—this is the inside story.

In this episode, I cover:

3:13 PMI Summit Trends and PMOBOK 8

8:50 PMO’s Rising Role and Industry Shifts

15:20 Why The PMO Leader Was Created

22:30 Volunteers, Voice, and Rel Value

28:20 Building a Follow-The-Sun Conference

35:40 Sponsors, Reach, and ROI

42:05 Global Partnerships and Inclusion

49:10 Trust, Belonging, and Member Care

55:40 Live Ops: When Tech Fails

And more...

🎧 Tune in for lessons you can take straight back to your team.

Visit https://www.thepmoleader.com for more information or follow on LinkedIn here https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-pmo-leader.

If you’d like to get involved in shaping what comes next.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Agile Ideas! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with someone who might benefit from our discussions. Remember to rate us on your preferred podcast platform and follow us on social media for updates and more insightful content.

Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd really appreciate it if you could share it with your friends and rate us. Let's spread the #AgileIdeas together!

We'd like to hear any feedback. www.agilemanagementoffice.com/contact

Don't miss out on exclusive access to special events, checklists, and blogs that are not available everywhere. Subscribe to our newsletter now at www.agilemanagementoffice.com/subscribe.

You can also find us on most social media channels by searching 'Agile Ideas'.

Follow me, your host, on LinkedIn - go to Fatimah Abbouchi - www.linkedin.com/in/fatimahabbouchi/

For all things Agile Ideas and to stay connected, visit our website below. It's your one-stop destination for all our episodes, blogs, and more. We hope you found today's episode enlightening. Until next time, keep innovating and exploring new Agile Ideas!


Learn more about podcast host Fatimah Abbouchi
...