Trade Me's Loren Thomas on building a people-led AI transformation | The AI Corner Ep 56

Join host Mike Bayly and guest Loren Thomas, Head of People Strategy and Experience at Trade Me, to explore how one of New Zealand's most iconic tech companies is navigating AI transformation from the inside. Loren shares how she took the initiative to drive AI adoption without formal authority, why foundational training was the real turning point, and how Trade Me's "blast radius" framework is bringing governance to a fast-moving space. Plus: the identity crisis facing skilled workers, reimagining roles for an AI-native workforce, and why the jobpocalypse narrative may be overblown. In this episode we discuss: 00:00 – Intro & guest bio 02:10 – Trade Me's AI journey from 2025 to now 05:30 – Why AI transformation is a people initiative 09:15 – Foundational training and the adoption spike 14:40 – The blast radius governance framework 20:05 – Hackathon design and what worked 26:30 – Identity shifts for skilled workers 31:20 – Junior talent and the apprenticeship problem 36:00 – Measuring ROI and outcomes 40:15 – Future of roles and workforce fluidity 44:30 – Outro & next steps LOREN'S LINKEDIN:   / loren-thomas-58947a53   SUBSCRIBE TO STAY AHEAD: NZ AI News: https://theaicorner.co.nz/subscribe