In this episode of Digitally Curious, host Andrew Grill, renowned futurist and author, sits down with Shannon Scott, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Product at Airwallex, one of the world’s fastest-growing FinTech innovators.

Key Topics Covered:

• Shannon’s Journey:
  From rural Victoria to leading global product strategy at Airwallex, Shannon shares how his background in computer science and mechatronic engineering shapes his approach to building next-generation financial products.
• Engineering Mindset in Product Leadership:
  Discover how thinking from first principles and understanding technology “under the hood” enables Airwallex to deliver seamless, global financial services and challenge industry assumptions.
• AI’s Transformative Role in Financial Services:
  Explore how AI is not just automating traditional tasks like fraud detection and compliance, but fundamentally transforming business workflows, onboarding, and financial operations — turning hours of manual work into minutes.
• Agentic AI Explained:
  Shannon demystifies agentic AI, describing how autonomous AI agents can handle complex, multi-step financial processes, from vendor onboarding to payment reconciliation, and what this means for both large and small businesses.
• Trust, Explainability & Regulation:
  The episode delves into the importance of maintaining trust and explainability in AI-driven finance, the role of human feedback, and why robust regulation gives financial services a head start in adopting AI responsibly.
• Data as a Strategic Asset:
  Learn why proprietary, high-quality data is the new competitive edge in the AI era, and how modular, adaptable data infrastructure is critical for future-proofing financial services.
• The Future of Decision-Making:
  Andrew and Shannon discuss the evolution of AI from an operational tool to a strategic decision partner, capable of suggesting best practices, optimising approval flows, and proactively managing risk.
• Actionable Insights:
  Shannon shares three practical steps for listeners to better understand and leverage agentic AI in finance:
  • Embrace podcasts and diverse learning sources
  • Experiment with new AI tools and services
  • Continuously question and seek better ways of working

Resources

Airwallex Website
Shannon on LinkedIn

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Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

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