Imagine a career sparked from the desire to play a video game that’s out of your budget. Marc Saltzman began his career as a journalist and technologist with a promise of publishing a review. With twenty-five years in the industry, Marc shares insight into automation and electrification alongside the questions these current innovations prompt in consumers and businesses alike. In this episode, Marc highlights several moments for the industry: the misdirection of Blackberry and Motorola, Queen El...
Nov 03, 2022•39 min•Ep. 70
A fresh spotlight is on clinical research on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. Katherine Vandebelt, Global Vice President of Innovation at Oracle, shares how she is innovating clinical research participation through inclusive, accessible, and human-centered practices. In this episode, Katherine highlights the challenges of recruitment and retention of clinical research participants. She reflects on the stress that arrives alongside health conditions, diagnoses, and deciding a treatment path. Kat...
Oct 20, 2022•32 min•Ep. 69
Serving the United States does not have to be in uniform. Mike Seper, University Program Director of the National Security Innovation Network at Washington University in St. Louis, discusses how the problem-solving network NSIN embraces university-based innovators and entrepreneurs from all areas of study to bring their expertise into the service of our country. In this episode, Mike reflects on the importance of an inclusive and diverse innovation process while providing a glimpse into programs...
Oct 06, 2022•34 min•Ep. 68
Extended reality has Jack King animated about innovation and the future of technology. As Chief Information Officer at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons , Jack sees the countless ways that augmented and virtual realities can accelerate learning and opportunities for the 39,000 members of AAOS. In this episode, Jack discusses motivation, connection, and encouraging employees to be participants in driving change. He speaks on company culture and his approach to communication, including ...
Sep 22, 2022•26 min•Ep. 67
In addition to hosting Innovation and the Digital Enterprise, Pat is also the founder of the Innovative Executives League, a group that connects visionary Chicago leaders. Earlier this year, the group held its first in-person Innovative Executives League Summit with an amazing slate of leaders sharing experiences and perspectives on innovation and leadership. Today’s episode pulls together highlights from three of the day’s presentations. First up, Gale Wilkinson, Founder and Managing Partner of...
Sep 08, 2022•39 min•Ep. 66
Seeking professional advice to advance your career? Patrick Dineen, Chief Information Officer at Nielsen , has the answer: solve bigger problems. As a leader in strategic planning and transformational thinking within several major companies over his career, Patrick is perfectly positioned to witness the incredible value of team members who seek out challenges and take advantage of big opportunities to contribute. In this episode, Patrick reflects on outside-in thinking and a growth mindset in th...
Aug 25, 2022•34 min•Ep. 65
Not many people are willing to call up their competitors and dive into discussions on bettering the industry at large—choosing to see their competitors as partners. Sara Rossio, Chief Product Officer at G2 , is curious about the ways transparency can build trust internally and how to embrace transparency and collaboration with customers, vendors, and across an industry. In this episode, Sara talks about how she approaches product management at G2, including utilizing artificial intelligence and ...
Jul 28, 2022•32 min•Ep. 64
It is all about the people, the process, and the technology for Mike Kennedy, VP of Technology, Enablement, and Strategy at CDW and U.S. Army veteran. Whether analyzing processes, recruiting and retaining great employees, and implementing new technologies, Mike is invested in holistic transformation. In this episode, Mike Kennedy discusses the importance of “little i” innovation, motivating employees, and inclusion in decision-making. He shares insight into a VSOM approach and agile practices wh...
Jun 23, 2022•32 min•Season 2Ep. 63
Fred Lee, Chief Technology Officer at Amount , is skeptical of “culture fit.” In leading technology teams of various sizes and goals, he has welcomed team members who approach things differently, who embrace their unique perspectives, and witnessed their added value across organizations. In his cross-industry career, a fresh perspective has often served him well. In this episode, Fred shares insight into the shifting experience of banking and the industry’s digital innovations. He reflects on ho...
May 26, 2022•32 min•Season 2Ep. 62
Edward Wagoner, CIO of JLL , acknowledges what many C-suite executives do not: leaders are human. In his 26 years at JLL, Edward has seen tremendous company growth—investment in data and proptech, the purchase of two AI companies, and a serious effort to recruit the highest-level data scientists—and he’s had to grow as well. In this episode, Edward talks about innovating the ways that we work together (in digital and physical space) and building environments that suit meaningful collaboration. H...
May 12, 2022•41 min•Season 2Ep. 61
AeroPay founder Dan Muller embraced Chicago’s supportive entrepreneurial ecosystem to build his innovative payment processing business in 2017, and he is looking to return the favor. This week’s episode offers an insightful conversation about finding the resources and community needed to materialize an idea, the often-fraught scaling period of a company, and the importance of advocating for fellow entrepreneurs. Dan Muller is a product-first founder dedicated to rethinking the collection and dis...
Apr 07, 2022•29 min•Season 2Ep. 60
How do we learn from our failures? Kayne Grau, CEO of Uptake, reflects on the highs and lows of his career in this week’s episode dealing with authenticity, leadership, and staying open-minded in your career path. He shares advice to his younger self about finding balance and embracing the lessons that emerge in difficult moments. Before joining Uptake, Kayne had a long career building brands and growing companies. He’s a self-described “product guy”, who relishes opportunities to engage with th...
Mar 24, 2022•35 min•Season 2Ep. 59
Sometimes a simple desire to give back can lead to unexpected places. That’s what happened when Jay Rudman decided to help other entrepreneurs in the Chicagoland community after selling his last business. What started as a semi-formal coaching relationship with the founder of Topstep, eventually led to Jay stepping in as Chief Growth Officer and eventually CEO, a role he held until recently. In this episode, Jay talks about his entrepreneurial journey prior to Topstep, one that started all the w...
Mar 10, 2022•36 min•Season 2Ep. 58
In his role as Vice President of Enterprise Architecture and Technology Strategy at Aon, Mohan Putcha’s job is to be ahead of the curve in spotting technology trends and understanding how they’ll impact the industry. It is also about leveraging those trends to deliver better service for Aon’s clients and internal teams, not just in theory, but in practice. Which is why Mohan’s team has taken a different approach to building platforms – one that starts by looking at the full value stream and unde...
Feb 24, 2022•30 min•Season 2Ep. 57
Technology is about solving problems and building solutions. This week’s guest, Sandee Kastrul, recognized the overlap in competencies needed for both technology and community leadership when she co-founded i.c.stars. This week she talks with Pat and Shelli about teaching technology with systems thinking, a community-lens, and an orientation of ‘how can I help’ versus ‘what can I get’. For more than two decades, i.c.stars has been developing tech talent in Chicago through a rigorous four month c...
Feb 17, 2022•34 min•Season 2Ep. 56
Rand McNally’s Chief Technology Officer, Steve Caudill joins Pat and Shelli this week to talk about building and maintaining the culture of a startup inside a well-established brand with a 165-year history. They cover a range of topics including recruiting talent in a highly competitive market, creating tight feedback loops between customers and engineers, and structuring product development for the shortest path to revenue. (01:13) - Technical product development (03:17) - Recruiting product ma...
Jan 20, 2022•39 min•Season 2Ep. 55
What does change management look like in a world of constant, rapid change? Allen Smith, CIO at Baker Tilly, believes keeping up with the pace of change today requires rethinking change management as a discipline, including the rigid processes and communication protocols from traditional waterfall development. Allen joins Patrick and Shelli to talk about the increasing overlap between our personal and professional lives. People bring the expectations they have for consumer software into their vi...
Dec 09, 2021•29 min•Season 2Ep. 54
At TransUnion, creating innovative products, building talent, and delivering excellent customer experiences start with an environment where trust is possible. Swati Shah, U.S. Markets CIO, talks with Patrick and Shelli this week about what cultivating that trust looks like for the organization. She also describes the various programs in place to support continuous learning for cross-functional teams and the importance of helping engineers understand the ‘why’ in addition to the ‘what’ for the so...
Nov 18, 2021•29 min•Season 2Ep. 53
Experiencing a sudden 90% revenue drop is a formidable challenge for any business. When SpotHero found themselves there at the start of the pandemic, the team took it as an opportunity to pause and rethink their business. In this episode Matt DiBari, Chief Product Officer at SpotHero, talks with Patrick and Shelli about how creative thinking and a strong team foundation allowed SpotHero to weather the sudden downturn. He also discusses how a culture of looking around corners and reacting with wo...
Nov 04, 2021•33 min•Season 2Ep. 52
While eye-popping capital rounds make headlines, sometimes smaller is better when it comes to venture fundraising. Will McGivern-Smith, Chief Strategy Officer of TrueData joined Patrick and Shelli to discuss what questions to answer for your business when considering venture capital. Understanding the type of company you’re building, the problem you’re solving and the total addressable market is a good place to start. Listen in to get Will’s take on what factors to weigh when looking for the bes...
Oct 21, 2021•40 min•Season 2Ep. 51
Timothy Alvis is the Chief Product Officer at SPINS and has over 20 years of experience marrying product, consumer needs, and business outcomes. He joined the podcast today to offer his tips for product teams and why they should focus on understanding problems rather than coming up with solutions. Having started his career as the founder of multiple gaming companies, Tim also discusses the creativity involved with popular video games like Minecraft and Roblox. Tune in for his insights. (01:18) -...
Sep 23, 2021•42 min•Season 2Ep. 50
Founders looking to secure funding face a long, arduous process. Founders of color can find it almost impossible and often receive significantly less money than their white counterparts. Desiree Vargas Wrigley believes that the tech ecosystem in Chicago needs to do more to support and nurture the untapped potential of Black and Latinx founders. Desiree is our guest this week on Innovation and the Digital Enterprise. She shares her experience as one of the two Latinx women in the last decade to h...
Sep 09, 2021•37 min•Season 2Ep. 49
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are powerful tools that companies can leverage to create better customer experiences. However, they traditionally require millions of dollars' worth of investment. Alex Muller believes that every product team, regardless of size, should benefit from the same machine learning capabilities used at the most successful companies in the world. Alex, the founder of SAVVI AI, is our guest this week on Innovation and the Digital Enterprise. Listen t...
Aug 26, 2021•36 min•Season 2Ep. 48
Banking has been around for hundreds of years. How do you teach an old dog new tricks? Chintan Mehta , CIO and Head of Digital Technology and Innovation at Wells Fargo, joined Patrick and Shelli to discuss the technological revolution happening right now in banking. He talks about what the next five years look like for innovations such as quantum computing and cultural shifts such as the gig worker economy. Listen in and get inspired. (02:23) - Deep tech work in banking (03:59) - Risks & cha...
Aug 12, 2021•39 min•Season 2Ep. 47
The Chicago Innovation Roundtable, a group that connects visionary Chicago leaders and the brainchild of IDE host Patrick Emmons, recently wrapped up their yearly Summit. For part 2 of the IDE season finale, Patrick shares some of the thought leadership from the Summit’s brightest stars. Take a listen to the episode to hear from Dick Burke, Adam Kanouse, Thru Shivakumar, Greg Svitak, and Ari Kaplan. IDE will be back with all new episodes soon. (00:44) - Dick Burke (03:18) - Adam Kanouse (12:08) ...
Jul 29, 2021•25 min•Ep. 46
In addition to hosting Innovation and the Digital Enterprise, Pat is also the founder of the Chicago Innovation Roundtable, a group that connects visionary Chicago leaders. Recently, the group hosted a summit where leaders could share their insights on what has helped them innovate in their respective fields. For the IDE season finale, Pat shares some of the highlights from the Innovation Summit. In part 1, you will hear from Betsy Ziegler, Scott Prugh, Dustin Kirkland, and Catherine Clay. Tune ...
Jul 15, 2021•23 min•Ep. 45
Brian Case is the Chief Digital Officer at GE Renewable Energy. In his field, the COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the importance of switching over to digitization. He is our guest this week on the podcast and chatted with Patrick and Shelli about his approach to leadership. Tune in to the episode to learn more about the importance of a company’s motivation to adopt digital, how repeatability of a problem leads to product advancement, and how to train the ideal team player. (01:04) - Driving...
Jun 17, 2021•30 min•Ep. 44
With complicated technological tools and processes, companies sometimes fill too many roles with specialists. Generalists are also needed for a fresh set of eyes and to approach problems with outside the box solutions. Dean Haacker prides himself on being a generalist and this skill has served him well as he’s helped reimagine banking while working with CIBC. Dean joined Patrick and Shelli for a wide-ranging conversation about the importance of living at the corner of strategy and innovation. Ch...
Jun 03, 2021•27 min•Ep. 43
Trading exchanges are highly regulated. This makes the implementation of technological changes a tricky proposition. Catherine Clay, Executive Vice President of Cboe Global Markets, has had to pivot and adapt her thinking when it comes to affecting change in a large, regulated corporation. Catherine joined Patrick and Shelli for this week’s episode of Innovation and the Digital Enterprise. She stressed the importance of keeping a company’s end goals in mind instead of getting caught up in the im...
May 20, 2021•41 min•Ep. 42
As the CEO of 1871, an entrepreneurial hub of innovation, Betsy Ziegler is an expert in early-stage growth and helps businesses grow from idea to the Fortune 500. For Betsy, one of the most important metrics for success is whether a business adheres to purpose-driven decision making. This week on Innovation and the Digital Enterprise, Betsy joins Patrick and Shelli to discuss how 1871 is supporting businesses throughout Chicago as well as what metrics she believes will help catapult businesses t...
May 06, 2021•41 min•Season 1Ep. 41
