Building Tech Teams with James MacDonald 
About Patrick McQuaid
Patrick McQuaid is Group Head of Data, Analytics & AI at NGM Group, the customer-owned banking group behind Greater Bank and Newcastle Permanent. He leads the bank's approach to building practical AI capability inside a regulated environment, weighing privacy, risk and customer trust against pressure to chase every new model or tool. Before NGM Group, he held senior data, analytics and digital marketing roles at IBM Business Consulting, PwC, TD and Telstra. He holds the GAICD company-director qualification and has spoken at industry events including CDAO Melbourne. On Day One's Building Tech Teams with James MacDonald, he discussed building AI capability without chasing every new model.
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- AI, Hiring & Team, Leadership
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Building Tech Teams with James MacDonald Go straight to the good bits.
Key moments from How to Build AI Capability Without Chasing Every New Model — Patrick McQuaid, NGM Group.
- 0:00Stop arguing about AI models
- 0:46What this episode covers
- 1:15Meet Patrick McQuaid
- 1:38Leading experts without being the deepest technical expert
- 4:37Deployment, flexibility and avoiding model lock-in
- 6:45Vibe coding versus production inside a regulated bank
- 8:30Shadow AI and choosing enterprise tools
- 10:10Junior engineers and hiring for attitude
- 16:15Who should own AI and token costs?
- 19:34Building, buying or partnering for AI capability
The path so far.
- Now
Group Head of Data, Analytics & AI · NGM Group
- Earlier
Chief Data and Analytics Officer function lead · RACV
Sources: theorg.com
NGM Group on Day One
NGM Group (Newcastle Greater Mutual Group) is a customer-owned banking group based in Newcastle, NSW, formed by the 2023 merger of Greater Bank and Newcastle Permanent.
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