mic-icon The Data & AI Chief | Episode 139

How to Transform a SaaS Company with AI from ELMO CTO

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Current EpisodeEP139: How to Transform a SaaS Company with AI from ELMO CTO
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Josh McKenzie

Josh McKenzie

Chief Technology Officer

ELMO

Episode Overview:

What happens when a software company building AI tools for HR teams uses those same tools to transform itself? Josh McKenzie, Chief Technology Officer at ELMO Software Group, shares how his team rebuilt their entire software development lifecycle around AI agents and redrew the boundaries of every engineering role. He breaks down how to lead that shift without losing people's trust, why domain expertise is the real SaaS moat, and how the right analytics partner unlocks decisions HR teams have never been able to make before.

Key Moments:

    06:37
    The SaaS Moat: What AI Can't Erode
    Josh argues SaaS value runs deeper than software. Accountability, compliance, and domain expertise keep purpose-built platforms irreplaceable.
    10:23
    How ELMO's AI Journey Started
    ELMO started by mapping every role against AI impact. Turning that lens on their own engineering team set the full transformation in motion.
    18:42
    Why ELMO Chose ThoughtSpot Over Building Its Own Analytics
    A homegrown tool requiring too much user expertise led ELMO to look elsewhere. ThoughtSpot Spotter and natural language capabilities closed the gap.
    20:21
    Why HR Teams Are the Most Underserved
    Payroll here, benchmarking data there, performance data somewhere else. HR teams have been drowning in spreadsheet hell for years. Josh explains how AI finally closes that gap.
    24:17
    From Engineer to CTO: Build a Team of Complements
    Josh reflects on the mindset shift that defined his path to the C-suite. Great leadership means building a team whose strengths cover your blind spots.

Key Quotes: 

How to Transform a SaaS Company with AI from ELMO CTO

“ThoughtSpot was particularly interesting for us… The big thing for us was the Spotter product. Allowing users to bridge that data analyst gap was really important. So, that product has yielded really, really great results for us.”

Josh McKenzie
How to Transform a SaaS Company with AI from ELMO CTO

“I think it's really important that we instill a culture where it's okay to fail, and it's okay to make a mistake. You want to be vocal about your mistakes so others don't repeat the same mistake.”

Josh McKenzie
How to Transform a SaaS Company with AI from ELMO CTO

“My belief is you want to focus on your secret sauce. So, what is the thing that makes your business super successful? And for us, that's where we came to look at ThoughtSpot. It has a really nice visual user interface and allows you to create some great dashboards.”

Josh McKenzie

Mentions: 

Guest Bios: 

Josh McKenzie

As the Chief Technology Officer, Josh McKenzie is responsible for both technical strategy and delivery (build, release and operation) of the ELMO product suite. Josh has a proven track record of successfully leading technology teams and implementing transformative strategies that enhance efficiency, drive growth, and elevate overall technological capabilities.

Josh has 20 years of experience in technology, primarily in FinTech. Before joining ELMO in 2024, Josh held executive and senior positions at Lendi Group, OFX, ASX and Westpac. Josh holds a Bachelor of Computer Science from the University of Newcastle and an MBA from the University of Sydney.

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