Coupling a charitable mindset and a drive to solve some of the toughest intellectual and scientific problems has led to success for P33 Chicago and founding Chief Executive Officer Brad Henderson. Serving Chicago and embracing the city’s challenges and strengths, Brad envisions the city as a hub for new technologies built on collaborative and dynamic innovation, all while embracing inclusive growth. In this episode, Brad shares the successes of P33 Chicago and TechRise ’s efforts, including outl...
Feb 22, 2024•31 min•Ep. 101
Today we’re sharing another insightful presentation from our most recent Innovative Executives League Summit , where Michelangelo D’Agostino, VP of Machine Learning at Tegus , delivered a foundational lesson about large language models. Imagine you are Rip Van Winkle, as Michelangelo puts it, and you have woken up after a long sleep and encountered the current AI landscape. What have you missed? What do you need to know to move forward? Calling upon his data analysis and machine learning experti...
Feb 08, 2024•25 min•Ep. 100
An exceptional company culture builds when steadfast employee commitment meets deep trust by customers. Chris Brown encountered this when he joined Relativity as Chief Product Officer in 2018. Chris joined the team in the early stages of their transition to SaaS and embraced the moment of disruption and opportunity—a familiar territory in his career, which included ten years at Orbitz Worldwide. From the perspective of CPO, Chris offers unique insights into the transition period from on-prem to ...
Jan 25, 2024•28 min•Ep. 99
Today we’re sharing another insightful presentation from our most recent Innovative Executives League Summit , where Mark Achler, Managing Director of MATH Venture Partners , spoke about the central role of trust in a successful company—with customers, employees, and partners. In this presentation, Mark details three experiences involving broken trust. He shares his journey remaining optimistic in the face of negativity and an array of reasons to embrace cynicism. Mark touches on several occurre...
Jan 11, 2024•40 min•Ep. 98
It is essential for companies to approach transformation from many directions, and leadership that embraces that multiplicity will innovate through process. Experienced technology executive Angel Mendez knows these methods intimately from years of working alongside visionary founders and forward-thinking teams. His business and technology journey includes a decade at Cisco Systems steering the acquisition of nearly 50 companies. In this episode, Angel, who is now Executive Chairman of the Board ...
Dec 14, 2023•44 min•Ep. 97
How do you create a frictionless experience for shoppers while keeping shrink under control? CTO of Sensormatic Solutions Subramanian Kunchithapatham (KS) spearheads innovative technologies to solve major retail questions and utilizes over two decades of experience to meet these challenges at the speed of retail evolution and digitization. His work explores shopper experience, inventory intelligence, loss prevention, and operational efficiency, all of which are underpinned by AI, machine learnin...
Nov 16, 2023•34 min•Ep. 96
Profound innovation has occurred across web-based communication technologies in the last decade, and truly accelerated in the years since the start of the pandemic. But David Heinemeier Hansson recognized a massively neglected arena, one we all use, every day: email. Bringing his experience as co-owner and Chief Technology Officer at 37signals ( Basecamp , Ruby on Rails , and more), David launched HEY , an innovative approach to email that provides a modernized, user-first service. In this episo...
Nov 02, 2023•52 min•Ep. 95
The first day on the job sets the tone, which is why Dom Scandinaro, SVP of Engineering & Data at fan connection app Cameo , encourages new hires to deploy code to production on their very first day. As an experienced software engineer and technology leader, Dom fosters day-one collaborations when bringing on a new team member. Even during growth periods with competing priorities. In this episode, Dom discusses his journey in software engineering and his own spirit of curiosity, which was in...
Oct 19, 2023•28 min•Ep. 94
For retail businesses, being able to provide real-time, precise inventory is key to exceeding customer expectations. Ronald Blahnik, Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President of Strategy, Innovation, Customer Experience, and Retail Analytics of Hibbett Sports , knows that providing customers with what they want, when they want it, has been essential to Hibbett’s growth over the last six years. In this episode, Ronald Blahnik provides insight into Hibbett’s expansive network of relation...
Oct 05, 2023•31 min•Ep. 93
Second City is an iconic Chicago institution training comedic geniuses across generations, but developing the talents of a VP of Technology is one of its more under-the-radar accomplishments. Arne Saupe, Vice President of Technology at Farmer’s Fridge , learned more than acting and improvisation when exploring this new arena. He discovered lessons in management, failure, team building, empathy, and communication that bolstered his years of experience as a technologist and growth-stage leader. In...
Sep 21, 2023•29 min•Ep. 92
Imagine you are a founder developing a physical product with incredible potential, but the space and resources to advance your product are out of reach and cost-prohibitive. Haven Allen witnessed this hurdle to introducing life-changing HardTech into the world and co-founded a solution: mHUB , a hyper-resourced innovation center in Chicago. In this episode, learn from CEO Haven Allen the impact of mHUB on physical technology innovation and the current landscape for manufacturing in the US. Shini...
Sep 07, 2023•31 min•Ep. 91
With a growing family, Tony Newcome took a major risk in returning to his software engineering roots after years in leadership—pay cut and all. Ultimately, the risk was rewarded. During his two decades of experience in the industry, Tony has held significant roles during critical growth moments at ExactTarget and Salesforce, and he currently serves as the Chief Technology Officer at ActiveCampaign . In this episode, Tony reflects on his journey to earning his degree and the mentorship he receive...
Aug 24, 2023•37 min•Ep. 90
A distaste for the repetitive is a powerful motivation. Something Kevin Pogany discovered as a teenager writing code for his father’s pharmacy to automate their processes. An early experience that catalyzed a nearly thirty-year career across nine industries pushing for data-driven innovation. Most recently, he has found himself as a Chief Technology Officer within the aerial imagery industry encouraging transformation in this critical juncture of machine learning, robotics, and proprietary data ...
Aug 10, 2023•46 min•Ep. 89
“You don’t get a chance to be new twice.” Technology and business executive Andrei Girenkov embraces moments of great potential and offers essential advice for achieving success in 2023. Recent Senior Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer at Greystar , Andrei discusses speaking the CEO’s language, enterprise change management, and his journey to law school and beyond. In this episode, Andrei encourages digital transformation with a business-before-technology mindset. He shares how a dee...
Jul 27, 2023•26 min•Ep. 88
Today we're sharing another insightful presentation from our most recent Innovative Executives League Summit , where Deepika Duggirala, SVP of Global Technology Platforms at TransUnion, spoke about how focusing on your people and the developer experience leads to improved business performance. At TransUnion, Deepika leads the technology strategy and execution of cloud-based platform transformation. With over two decades of leadership experience, she has led teams that build high-performing softw...
Jul 13, 2023•22 min•Ep. 87
Tasked with accelerating digital transformation at Allstate , Christopher Paquette recognizes the digital potential embedded everywhere. Reflecting on his first year as Chief Digital Transformation Officer at Allstate, Christopher shares essential lessons in collaboration, creating value for the customer, and transformation strategy. In this episode, Christopher discusses focus areas of connectivity, automation, decisioning, and pattern recognition. He gives examples of analysis indicators and t...
Jun 29, 2023•30 min•Ep. 86
Today we're sharing an insightful presentation from one of our Innovative Executives League Summit speakers, Jack King. At the November summit, Jack spoke to the audience about creating an effective innovation culture and leveraging disruptive technologies through VR and AR. Jack currently serves as the CIO for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, AAOS. He provides vision and leadership to help develop and manage both the application, data, and service portfolios to enable AAOS to be th...
Jun 15, 2023•15 min•Ep. 85
In an industry deeply focused on the “now”— scheduling down to the minute—and dedicated to safety above all else, how can innovation with an eye to the future and taking risks fit in? In aviation, United Airlines found a solution by tasking Jorie Sax with launching and leading its first innovation lab, Airshop. In this episode, Jorie shares how an innovation lab can foreground collaboration and inspire peers throughout the company while maintaining safety standards and continuing to produce valu...
Jun 01, 2023•34 min•Ep. 84
Deploying the most critical systems to the cloud first was a bold strategy for Fitch Group . It’s an approach Derek Ferguson, Global Head of Enterprise Architecture, and Chris Lalor, Senior Director – Technology Enablement, believe was essential to the successful transformation to the cloud for the Group’s companies and is how they continue to manage complex, new technology to date. In this episode, Derek and Chris dive into avoiding friction in the development process, enabling developers to in...
May 18, 2023•34 min•Ep. 83
How do I use cloud services intentionally? What might I build out on-prem? What might my edge architecture look like? – These are just some of the questions Amanda Blevins is hearing from technology leaders these days. Finding solutions to those challenges is a big part of her current role as Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of the Americas at VMware . In this episode, Amanda shares her thoughts on the future of cloud technology and how to tame the "cloud chaos" by creating an intenti...
May 04, 2023•33 min•Ep. 82
Participating in school activities and community building has been challenging for remote and hybrid students, let alone the near impossibility of "running into a friend." Rich Alapack, founder of we all live here , witnessed this experience early in the pandemic and envisioned a program in which this was all possible: SchoolTopia . In this episode, Rich shares the mission of we all live here and their commitment to public art projects that promote inclusivity and empower students to challenge h...
Apr 20, 2023•31 min•Ep. 81
When Tommy Richardson enlisted in the United States Army at 18, he narrowed his options to operating a tank or going into computer operations and programming. In selecting the latter, he launched a lasting career in the field, has led several major companies in C-suite positions, and recently arrived as Chief Product and Technology Officer for Litmos , leading product innovation. In this episode, Tommy discusses balancing technology evolution to remain competitive, feature development to meet cu...
Apr 06, 2023•28 min•Ep. 80
Between confidentiality agreements, polite manners, and ego, it can be difficult to get a real story of what selling a company is like. Breaking that taboo was the inspiration for Exit Right , a book co-authored by today’s guest Mark Achler, Managing Director at MATH Venture Partners . In this episode, Mark shares the hard-earned lessons captured in Exit Right about key actions that lead to successful exits. He makes the case for viewing these transactions not as a moment in time but as an oppor...
Mar 23, 2023•44 min•Ep. 79
One consequence of success for a startup is outgrowing the very strategies that made you successful. As an experienced founder, it’s a challenge Justin McNally was prepared to tackle as Chowly grew from a seedling idea to a market leader in point-of-sale integration. At each stage of growth, Justin’s role, and sometimes title, evolved to meet the changing needs of the organization. Through the lens of his current role as Chief Innovation Officer, Justin discusses traversing the gap from startup ...
Mar 09, 2023•30 min•Ep. 78
The Innovative Executives League recently held its second in-person summit with an amazing slate of thought leaders sharing their experiences and perspective on innovation and leadership. In this episode, Patrick and Shelli highlight a variety of insightful presentations from the event. If you're unfamiliar with the Innovative Executives Leagues, it's an invite-only community of innovators, entrepreneurs, and intrapreneurs with a growth mindset and a passion for innovation. It was founded to inc...
Feb 23, 2023•45 min•Ep. 77
A great teacher can be the key to welcoming challenges, self-confidence, and a curious spirit. In the case of Larry Berlin, Chief Financial Officer at Freedom Fries, great teachers also inspired a lifelong commitment to mentorship, including his critical mentor role for the New Venture Challenge , an accelerator program that has launched Grubhub, Braintree/Venmo, and many more successful companies. In this episode, Larry shares details of the development process and aims of his recent venture: s...
Feb 09, 2023•36 min•Ep. 76
Specific, problem-solving artificial intelligence is here, but when will the general, exponentially learning AI arrive in full force? Technologist Michael Housman, CTO of a stealth project at Doma , shares the anticipated arrival of AGI and his career contributing to machine learning and artificial intelligence. In this episode, Michael debunks misconceptions about AI and illuminates how malicious actors have benefitted from developments in data science (and how we can use data to catch them). B...
Jan 26, 2023•41 min•Ep. 75
Adaptability is an essential skill for anyone navigating their career in a company experiencing growth. Chief Information Officer James Gray curates his teams with this priority due to REEF ’s exponential growth in recent years, especially as the neighborhood-focused company saw the desire for the proximity of goods and services increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, James Gray shares insight into the importance of articulating your needs as an employee, addressing company-emplo...
Dec 15, 2022•28 min•Ep. 73
Only an exceptional innovator would look at a burgeoning career in operations and pause to examine their reputation and evaluate their goals. With the help of an executive coach, Deborah Spence-Cummings did just that and now serves as the Director of AI/ML Operations at Apple . Deborah shares how she used an engineering mindset developed at MIT and Northwestern to drive her career progression through positions in operations, planning, project management, sales, and now, artificial intelligence a...
Dec 01, 2022•39 min•Ep. 72
With a decorated thirty-year career in the U.S. Army behind him, General James Mukoyama’s retirement is one of passionate advocacy and aid for veterans. In the organizations he leads, Military Outreach USA and Enabled Enterprises , as well as other faith-based acts of service, General Mukoyama believes in leading by example and with care while maintaining balance in your life. In this episode, General Mukoyama highlights two critical efforts of Military Outreach USA: reducing veteran suicide rat...
Nov 17, 2022•48 min•Ep. 71
