On this episode of the IT Matters Podcast, our hosts are joined by John Sotello, Chief Information Officer of Cloyes Gear and Products. Together, they discuss the changing role of CIOs, the intersection of technology and business, and the impact of cybersecurity and data on the automotive industry. Conversation Highlights: 00:00 Introducing John Sotello, CIO of Cloyes [05:15] The Role of a CIO in Modern IT [08:20] John Sotello’s Unique Career Path [15:09] Cybersecurity Insights for the Automotiv...
May 28, 2025•38 min•Ep. 33
On this episode of the IT Matters Podcast , our hosts are joined by Grant Walsh, Head of Information Technology at Flow Control Group. Together, they discuss adapting to rapid technological changes and what makes a good leader. Thank you to Zscaler, this episode's sponsor. Zscaler, universally recognized as the leader in zero trust, employs the largest security cloud on the planet. Their cloud native Zero Trust Exchange platform protects thousands of customers from cyberattacks and data loss by ...
Apr 04, 2025•43 min•Ep. 32
On this episode of the IT Matters Podcast , Keith Hawkey is joined by Geoff Moore, Chief Information Officer at Valmark Financial. Together, they discuss cybersecurity best practices, navigating the complex world of managed security services, and the evolving role of AI in threat detection. Conversation Highlights: 00:00 Introducing Geoff Moore, CIO at Valmark Financial [02:11] Making sense of cybersecurity acronyms: MDR, XDR, and SOC [07:22] AI's role in detecting threats and phishing attempts ...
Dec 17, 2024•41 min•Ep. 31
On this episode of the IT Matters Podcast, Keith and Aaron are joined by Jeff Roberts, Founder & CEO at Innovation Vista. Drawing from his extensive experience as a CIO and consultant, Jeff discusses common pitfalls organizations encounter with VCIO services and shares strategies for leveraging their potential to drive greater efficiency and success. Conversation Highlights: 00:00 Introducing Jeff Roberts, founder and CEO of Innovation Vista [03:54] The genesis of Innovation Vista [05:36] Co...
Dec 02, 2024•49 min•Ep. 30
In this episode, Keith is joined by Glenn Hasteadt, IT Director at the County of Onslow, and Jess Levin, Technology Advisor at Opkalla. Glenn dives into the importance of building relationships and fostering trust with your IT team. Conversation Highlights: 00:00 Introducing our guest, Glenn Hasteadt [02:48] IT teams gaining recognition [03:27] Fostering relationships between departments [04:51] Advice for new leaders [11:09] Practicing culture characteristics [24:30] The new generation of IT [3...
Jun 28, 2024•35 min•Ep. 29
In this episode of the IT Matters podcast, host Keith Hawkey delves into the complexities of change management with Meridith Fix, the former CIO of Lendlease. Meridith shares her extensive experience and unique perspectives on how organizations can successfully navigate technology changes from a human-centric approach. Conversation Highlights: [00:00] Introducing our guest, Meridith [03:34] Building the foundations for a technology change [06:32] Navigating organizational changes [09:46] Cultiva...
May 31, 2024•30 min•Ep. 28
In this episode, Keith is joined by Darrell Stinson, VP of IT & Security at Cohere Health, a software startup in the healthcare space. Darrell and Keith dive into a strategy for building and implementing security compliance plans for startups. Conversation Highlights: [00:39] Introducing our guest, Darrell Stinson [03:37] Darrell's journey with startups [05:51] Experimenting with open source technology [07:13] Strategizing in a new ecosystem [14:08] Evaluating MDR providers [20:35] Complianc...
May 02, 2024•31 min•Ep. 27
In this episode, Keith is joined by Chintan Patel, Chief Information Officer at National DCP, a supply chain management company serving the franchisees of Dunkin'. Chintan delves into the hurdles and opportunities she encounters in the logistics industry, highlighting the role of technology in overcoming these obstacles. Conversation Highlights: [00:41] Introducing our guest, Chintan Patel [02:16] High level challenges in the logistics industry [04:02] Technologies making an impact [07:35] Discu...
Apr 18, 2024•40 min•Ep. 26
In this episode, Keith and special guest Jesse are joined by Anthony Kent, VP of Information Technology at Four County EMC, an electric membership cooperative in North Carolina. Anthony shares insights into the technological advancements and challenges faced by electric cooperatives, particularly focusing on the integration of new technologies and AI into their operations. Conversation Highlights: [00:17] Introducing our guests, Anthony Kent and Jesse Erickson [01:17] How Jesse and Anthony met [...
Apr 05, 2024•37 min•Ep. 25
William MacMillan serves as the Chief Product Officer at Red Cell Partners, an incubation firm building rapidly-scalable technology-led companies. After nearly two decades of military service, he transitioned into the role of Chief Information Security Officer at the CIA, safeguarding our nation against cyber threats. In this episode, we discuss the process of implementing Zero Trust Architecture in your organization and its importance. Conversation Highlights: [00:23] Introducing our guest, Wil...
Mar 21, 2024•38 min•Ep. 24
Brennan Manion serves as a Senior Account Executive at Red Canary, a Managed Detection Response service providing 24/7/365 protection for their customers. Through Red Canary's innovative approach, which integrates AI and human expertise, organizations can effectively mitigate cyber threats while minimizing false positives, providing peace of mind in an ever-evolving threat landscape. In this episode, we discuss the significance of MDR and the intricate differences between EDR, MDR, and XDR. Conv...
Mar 07, 2024•30 min•Ep. 23
Todd Capriotti serves as the Chief Information Officer of Wahiawa General Hospital, a community-owned, non-profit hospital serving Central Oahu and Oahu's North Shore. Hand-picked as the first-ever CIO for Wahiawa, Todd pioneered a comprehensive transformation strategy, reversing a 5+ year negative trend of delivery outages and service interruptions. In this episode, we discuss the unique challenges of revamping IT infrastructure and cybersecurity protocols in the healthcare industry. Conversati...
Feb 15, 2024•35 min•Ep. 22
Kristopher Moniz serves as the National Data & Analytics Lead for Centric Consulting, an international management consulting firm with unmatched expertise in business transformation, AI strategy, cyber risk management, technology implementation and adoption. Kristopher's focus is helping his clients tackle their Data & Analytics challenges, specifically in the insurance industry, where he has concentrated the last fifteen years of his career. Today we discuss the importance of a data str...
Jan 25, 2024•45 min•Ep. 21
Matt Huffman serves as the Information Technology Manager for Reinders, Inc, one of the Midwest’s largest full-service distributors of products to the commercial green industry. Matt has both administrated cybersecurity audits during his tenure at Wipfli and navigated them on the customer side. Through the years of seeing both ends, he developed a simple methodology to successfully save time and pass audits when they come around. Today we discuss those tips and tricks to help the IT leader manag...
Jan 10, 2024•43 min•Ep. 20
On this episode of the IT Matters Podcast, Keith Hawkey and Becca Black discuss the nuances of Technology Advisory. Becca reflects on her journey into the IT world, the significance of authentic relationships, and the importance of effective communication. Tune in for a candid discussion on building connections and achieving success in the IT realm. Conversation Highlights: [00:35] Introducing our guest, Becca Black [02:07] Becca's path to the tech world [05:55] Transitioning to Opkalla [08:54] ...
Dec 19, 2023•30 min•Ep. 19
Denver Hunter serves as the Director of Information Technology at PenServ Plan Services, a full-service, third-party administrator offering retirement plan recordkeeping and administration services. In addition to his role leading their IT team, he shares perspectives on technology trends, writing for the Forbes Technology Council. Today we discuss practical applications of AI to automate tasks for the technology leader and the possibilities for help desks. We also dive into why hyperconverged t...
Oct 30, 2023•36 min•Ep. 18
James Anderson is a Senior News Editor for digital news outlet Channel Futures, which hosts the largest IT Partner Event in North America, Channel Partners. In this episode we dive into the beginnings of the Technology Services Distributer (TSD) Industry and how discontent resellers and customers paved the way for the modern Technology Advisor role. Conversation Highlights: [01:11] Introducing our guest, James Anderson [04:52] The history of TSDs [08:49] Leveraging onboarding tools [09:48] Bigge...
Oct 20, 2023•34 min•Ep. 17
Matthew Martin is a seasoned cybersecurity leader with over a decade of experience in the financial services industry. Matthew is currently focused on advising and consulting as a Fractional CISO. Most recently, he was Deputy CISO at LPL Financial. He holds advisory positions on boards of Ironscales, Trustwise, Stealth and Surge Ventures. Today we discuss AI hallucinations and the practical steps any organization could take before going down the path of AI adoption. Conversation Highlights: [01:...
Sep 18, 2023•37 min•Ep. 16
Today we are joined by Ryan Lee, who is the newly appointed Director of IT at Allegiance Group. He has an extensive background in M&A and is a wealth of knowledge for any IT leader challenged with integrating disperse technologies and IT teams. In this episode, we discuss strategies and tips to streamline this process and the power of the words “Yes ... but” as it relates to the relationship with business leaders. Conversation Highlights: [00:16] Introducing our guest, Ryan Lee [02:00] Discu...
Sep 14, 2023•47 min•Ep. 15
Matthew B. Parks, Sr., is the VP of IT and Security for The Pace Center for Girls and has been involved in IT since 1995. In this episode, we discuss old technologies as well as mindsets and how they trap the modern IT leader into doing things the same way in an evolving environment. Matthew is bullish on flip phones and a diverse workforce, which he thinks are both going to play important roles in future technology. Conversation Highlights: [00:26] Introducing our guest, Matthew B. Parks, Sr. [...
Aug 31, 2023•47 min•Ep. 14
Operational technology cybersecurity is an emerging industry due to the life-threatening consequences of compromised systems. The biggest question operations managers need to ask themselves is: What does a bad day look like, and how can I detect it coming? On today's podcast, we highlight Dragos and cutting-edge solutions to mitigate the risk of operational technology compromise. Conversation Highlights: [01:15] Discussing ChatGPT article [02:47] Introducing our guest, Jason Christopher [03:47] ...
Aug 22, 2023•42 min•Ep. 13
Some say cloud investments are not meeting their promised ROI potential. Today our guest Anthony Darden speaks about how to sell the vision of moving to the cloud to a board by formulating the proposals as initiatives other departments need to perform better. We also discuss how AI is affecting application development teams and what young college students should consider post-graduation as AI continues to impact the job market. Conversation Highlights: [00:07] Intro [00:33] Discussing the Micros...
Aug 03, 2023•44 min•Ep. 12
Join the conversation with John Rouda as he shares his thoughts on bringing AI and ChatGPT into the workplace and schools. We also cover the importance of learning the basics before using AI, how John approaches adopting other new technologies in his role managing an IT department, the impact of streaming services on content ownership and more. John is VP of IT at INSP, LLC. He comes with over 20 years' experience in IT leadership and is an expert in software engineering, networking, and cyber s...
May 18, 2023•38 min•Ep. 11
Advancing in the field of information technology requires a combination of technical knowledge, problem-solving skills and an understanding of the future of technology. IT professionals must stay up-to-date on new technologies and trends as the world rapidly evolves. Join the conversation with Scott Finkhouse as he shares more about how he got to be a CIO. We also discuss how you can advance in IT and some of the challenges you'll likely face along the way - including one of the bigger challenge...
May 04, 2023•47 min•Ep. 10
In preparing our teams for the next step in digital transformation, how do we map the best path? Without understanding each person’s needs and challenges, we cannot use technology effectively to assist them and move our business forward. Throwing technology at problems without understanding team needs is a Recipe For Disaster. On the flip side of that, learning how to build an effective collaboration between your wider business and IT is the key to staying ahead in digital transformation. In thi...
Apr 20, 2023•41 min•Ep. 9
The IT Matters Podcast is about IT matters and matters pertaining to IT. In this episode of IT Matters, host Aaron Bock interviews Jeremy Campbell, VP of Technology at Velogica US, a SCOR Global Life Americas company. Conversation Highlights: The challenges of working in IT at a local county government (4:57) How Jeremy went from programming as a young boy to a VP of Technology (9:16) Jeremy’s advice for young people who want to pursue a career in IT (14:35) What SCOR Global Life Americas does a...
Dec 27, 2022•41 min•Ep. 8
The IT Matters Podcast is about IT matters and matters pertaining to IT. In this episode of IT Matters, host Aaron Bock interviews Jim Marascio, Principal & Chief Executive Officer of Equals 11. Conversation Highlights: How attending a coding camp in fourth grade led Jim to a career in IT (0:43) What the organizational structure of a company reveals about their IT department (05:31) Jim explains what Equals 11 is and how they help businesses with CRM (8:45) What CRM means to a company and ho...
Dec 13, 2022•45 min•Ep. 7
The IT Matters Podcast is about IT matters and matters pertaining to IT. In this episode of IT Matters, host Aaron Bock interviews Will Friedrich, Director of Strategy and Consulting at Experis. Conversation Highlights: Will explains how he began working with the cloud and how the cloud has evolved over the past two decades (4:08) Why companies should consider adopting the cloud (8:15) The general use cases for the cloud (13:08) What the cloud actually is, and how business leaders should look at...
Nov 22, 2022•52 min•Ep. 6
In this episode of IT Matters, host Aaron Bock interviews Curtis Hughes, CIO of steel manufacturing company Midrex Technologies. Conversation Highlights: Curtis’s journey to becoming a CIO (2:29) How Curtis’s consulting background has guided his leadership at Midrex (4:20) What IT means to an organization in 2022 (6:17) The importance of a people-centered approach to technology (7:38) How Curtis got started in technology (9:23) Automation trends and technology priorities across industries (11:36...
Jun 15, 2022•43 min•Ep. 5
In this episode, host Aaron Bock interviews Ron Horn, Former CIO of Guilford Technical Community College (now VP IT of YMCA of Greater Charlotte). Conversation Highlights: How Ron became a technologist (3:22) Transitioning from the military to corporate and organizational IT (5:15) Ron's thoughts on communicating the business use case of IT within an organization (12:14) The importance of an IT annual report and socializing the accomplishments of an IT department (15:17) Ron shares how organizat...
Jun 07, 2022•38 min•Ep. 4
