TTP - The Top 10% Podcast with Craig Whiting
TTP - The Top 10% Podcast
TTP - The Top 10% Podcast is a deep dive into the world of hiring, recruitment, and career growth, exploring the strategies, challenges, and trends that shape how companies attract, hire, and retain top talent.
Hosted by Craig Whiting, this series brings together tech leaders, recruiters, and industry experts to share their insights on what it really takes to build high-performing teams in today’s evolving job market.
What to Expect in Each Episode:
🔹 The Hiring Landscape – How companies find, assess, and secure top talent.
🔹 Recruitment & Industry Insights – The evolving role of recruiters, agencies, and internal hiring teams.
🔹 Leadership & Culture – How company culture and leadership styles impact hiring and retention.
🔹 Career Growth & Development – How candidates can stand out and advance in their careers.
🔹 Future of Work – The impact of remote work, AI, and new hiring trends on the job market.
Whether you're a business leader, recruiter, or job seeker, The Top 10% Podcast will challenge your thinking and provide practical, real-world insights to help you navigate the ever-changing world of work.
TTP - The Top 10% Podcast with Craig Whiting
The Top 10% Podcast with Craig Whiting – Ep.9: Adri Purkayastha on AI Risk, Talent & Strategy
In this episode of the TTP Podcast, Craig Whiting sits down with Adri Purkayastha, AI risk expert, product strategist, and former big four data scientist for a deep conversation about the evolving relationship between artificial intelligence, governance, and business value.
Adri shares his unconventional journey from building early ML products as a student entrepreneur to overseeing AI technology risk across financial services, wealth management, and investment banking. The conversation dives deep into how institutions can responsibly adopt AI, what they often get wrong, and why speed, structure, and talent will separate the winners from the rest.
If you work in tech, hiring, engineering leadership, or innovation strategy, this episode offers a rare look at the infrastructure and human decisions behind AI adoption. Plus the risks no one talks about.
🎙 Key Topics:
🔹 What AI “hallucination” means—and why it’s more dangerous than most realize
🔹 The future of engineering teams in an AI-native environment
🔹 Why curiosity and speed of learning will define top tech talent
🔹 The shift from cost centers to value centers in enterprise technology
🔹 How AI changes org design, governance, and product ownership
🔹 The rise of the modern IC (individual contributor) as a key strategic asset
🔹 What financial institutions can learn from product-led tech orgs
🔹 Why failing fast is essential—and why waiting to act is the bigger risk
📄 Show Notes & Timestamps
[00:00] – Adri’s Background
Entrepreneurial beginnings → AI in education → big four → enterprise risk & governance
[08:00] – What AI Risk Really Means
How hallucination, uncertainty, and infrastructure gaps create business risk
[16:00] – Cost vs. ROI of AI Adoption
Why the expense of AI infrastructure changes how businesses scale
[22:00] – The Human Layer of AI Deployment
Impact on job design, talent strategy, and upskilling across tech teams
[30:00] – Tech as a Value Driver, Not a Cost Center
Where banks, hedge funds, and tech firms differ—and what they’re getting right
[36:00] – Structural Shifts in Tech Teams
The rise of the IC, shortening the distance between tech and revenue, and rebuilding orgs to move faster
[41:00] – What to Look for in Modern Tech Talent
Curiosity, adaptability, and evidence of experimentation
[44:00] – What’s Next in AI Governance
Where Adri sees the biggest risks—and the most potential—over the next 2–3 years