Innovation And The Digital Enterprise

Today we're sharing another insightful presentation from our most recent Innovative Executives League Summit, where Leon Chism, the Vice President of Engineering at Evolve, delivered a powerful lesson on collecting critical metrics for organization-wide success. As an experienced technologist and executive, Leon leads teams in unparalleled growth and innovation. In this presentation, Leon dives into how the collection of metrics examining speed and quality paired with human-driven evaluation and consistent reporting are the keys to success. In this episode, Leon first dives into DORA metrics and the significance of collecting and reporting those figures of speed and quality. He overviews the additional customization of the data he collects; in one example, he looks closely at aging reports to determine where processes are sticking and gains a live perspective on getting those tasks unstuck by allocating more resources. As the last place to observe metrics, Leon offers a compelling outlook on examining te

Today we’re sharing another insightful presentation from our most recent Innovative Executives League Summit, where Tanya Hannah discusses the roadmap to navigate the ever-evolving tech landscape. As a seasoned transformational business executive, Tanya offers the pillars needed to survive major shifts and thrive in the opportunities presented by them. In this episode, Tanya shares how critical a shared vision and strategy is in preparation. Teams cannot operate only with yesterday’s logic; they must look forward in anticipation of a pivot. Tanya offers how technologists can operate at the key intersection of short-term performance and long-term planning. She stresses the importance of a business perspective having a place in tech conversations and leaning into a skillset that embraces both.As an award-winning technology leader, Tanya sees a path forward that focuses on data, talent, and vision. Tanya describes how data provides the competitive advantage businesses are looking for and how the ability to

Today we’re sharing another insightful presentation from our most recent Innovative Executives League Summit, where Desiree Vargas Wrigley, Chief Innovation Officer of P33 Chicago and Executive Director of TechRise by P33, delivered a lesson in stakeholder-centric design. Desiree overviews the challenges Chicago’s underrepresented tech founders face and the process of developing TechRise’s initiatives. Highlighting the impact of TechRise and P33, Desiree presents a galvanizing picture of Chicago-based innovation that utilizes local money to generate a cycle of loyalty, growth, and investment that leans into Chicago’s advantages. In this episode, Desiree asks: “Who succeeds when you succeed?” As an enthusiastic believer in Chicago’s potential as an innovation hub, Desiree is also unafraid to point out its shortcomings, such as the lack of popularity in social ventures and lack of recycled capital. Demonstrating a stakeholder-centric design process with the case study of TechRise, Desiree shows how focusin

Today we’re sharing another insightful presentation from our most recent Innovative Executives League Summit, where Maya Mikhailov, Chief Executive Officer and founder of SAVVI AI, discusses machine learning as a powerful toolkit of solutions. Comparing efficiency with and without AI, she highlights how the proper tool makes the difference and cuts through assumptions. Is Chat GPT the AI tool that makes Amazon such a success? No. It is Amazon's recommendation engine built on billions of data points. Looking beyond the hype of select functionalities of machine learning, AI applications abound.In this episode, Maya introduces AI’s key practical uses, as she currently views the technology: decision automation, classification and prediction, large language models, and writing documentation and code. She emphasizes how natural language makes a query more accessible than programmatic language and shares example after example of increasing efficiency. Maya’s presentation sheds insight into where AI technologies are

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 outlining how two million dollars invested into Black, Hispanic, and women founders led to ninety-three million in additional private financing. He discusses the lasting effects of starting a business under-capitalized and the realities of how most founders raise capital. Brad offers insight into connecting investors with opportunities where they might lack first-hand expertise or experience and the benefits of encountering and working with new people and ideas.Brad dives into ongoing success stories in Chicago (EventNoire a

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 expertise, Michelangelo offers clear, concise insights to introduce audiences to the capabilities and shortcomings of large language models today.  In this presentation, Michelangelo integrates large language models to demonstrate their abilities. Defining the term and other critical ones (What does GPT mean?), he dives into the factors that have led to the exponential growth in these models since 2020 and details the training methodologies that led to major advances. Michelangelo covers how instruction tuning brought

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 SaaS, addressing legacy technology, embracing the customer as a co-innovator by building plentiful touchpoints, and the intricate SaaS sales process. Speaking on what SaaS can inimitably provide, Chris muses on “a continuous stream of innovation at high availability” and customer success.In this episode, Chris looks ahead to the future to discuss how AI and LLMs will impact the law industry and finding effective uses for the technology. He shares how one of the oldest industries in the world can embrace the best of AI’

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 occurrences in which trust, ethics, and standards have been at the center of faltering companies and outlines why trusted companies perform better. (01:11) – Three stories and a question(20:34) – Optimism and cynicism(25:22) – Economics of trust(30:50) – Loss of trust and manipulation(37:37) – Trust as offense and defense(39:25) – Breaking promisesMark Achler is the Managing Director at MATH Venture Partners, a VC fund focused on technical and digital companies. Mark is a faculty member at Northwestern University Kell

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 at LevaData, shares critical lessons from his impressive career in developing a multiprong approach to transformation. He discusses collaboration and partnerships across companies, leveraging ecosystems, and empowering all employees to be innovators. Angel dives into his experience learning the world of startups, the hard lesson of learning to move on from an idea, and witnessing the iPhone’s launch from his role at Palm.(02:34) – Introducing Angel Mendez(05:12) – Arriving in Silicon Valley(08:10) – The acquisition proc

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 learning, and video analytics technologies.In this episode, KS shares insight into a detailed pain-point innovation methodology, including honing in on areas ripe for disruption and the consideration of cost. He discusses how shoppers are making purchase decisions (everywhere and anywhere) and how Sensormatic Solutions is providing innovative technologies for its industry customers to meet that demand.Patrick, Shelli, and KS discuss how the pandemic reshaped retail and how those lessons have helped make for an improved custom

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 episode of Innovation and the Digital Enterprise, David articulates a dedication to forging new paths in software and entrepreneurship.He shares important lessons in approaching remote work, including the essential pillar of embracing asynchronicity. He dives into how he structures his day for success and offers a counterpoint to the American workplace culture of bragging about busyness and 80+ hour weeks. Finally, David provides insight into the current state of cloud technology and his company’s recent—successful and swift—mi

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 inspired by his entrepreneurial father. He talks about his work with Black Girls Code, whose mission is “to provide Black girls access to engaging computer programming education that sparks their interest in technology, unlocks their potential and leads to more equitable communities.” He shares how Black Girls Code encourages curiosity in those new to coding and stresses the value of embracing unfamiliar challenges. Dom also provides insight into hiring talent, examining processes during growth periods, and how individual

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 relationships with customers, associates, and vendors (who are also direct-to-consumer). He shares the strategies that led to expanding business during the COVID-19 pandemic, including avoiding major supply chain issues, managing team communication, and maintaining agility. Navigating transformation during a period that demanded change, Ronald Blahnik sheds light on his approach to problem-solving, operating within a larger ecosystem, and his expectations for AI-driven innovation.(03:06) – Hibbett Sports(06:00) – Delivering

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 this episode, Arne dives into finding complementary team members, ensuring diversity in thought, and balancing the vision with guardrails. He provides clear advice for approaching feedback and determining growth opportunities, including quarterly check-ins to identify what you want to think about the least and recognizing those as areas you likely must improve. (02:11) – Farmer’s Fridge and Trunk Club(05:23) – CEO and CFO partnership(09:15) – Investing your time in what you’re good at(11:59) – Motivating the

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. Shining the spotlight on mHUB members and research and development culture in Chicago, Haven discusses balancing a focus on your business and customers with improving your product for ultimate success.(02:45) – mHUB(08:30) – Re-industrialization(10:34) – Relocating and opportunity zones(11:45) – CHIPS and Science Act(15:19) – Hyperlocal to global(19:33) – Renewed interest in hardware technology(23:08) – Contract manufacturers(26:10) – Spotlight on mHUB success storiesHaven Allen is Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of mH

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 received from his father. He shares his approach to “integrating” your life and his mindset when people leave an organization. In looking ahead, Tony offers his perspective on utilizing AI as a tool, the challenge of deep fakes, and the trend emerging in conflict resolution skills.(02:30) – ActiveCampaign(09:47) – Balance vs. integration(12:55) – Imposter syndrome(15:59) – Motivation (17:20) – Collaboration and building trust(21:30) – Knowing when a leadership role fits(28:40) – Deep fakes of the future(31:53)

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 assets. In this episode, Kevin provides insight into balancing innovative, aspirational thought with structured, realistic innovation. He shares how value is almost always situated with change and how to position an organization to provide value within and across industries with data. Kevin discusses his professional journey and how vision and experience create immeasurable potential. (01:31) – Introducing the aerial imagery industry(10:39) – Innovative thought and structured innovation(12:14) – Kevin’s journ

“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 deep knowledge of the particular business and industry while staying on top of new technologies, can empower others to embrace growth when proposing transformation. Andrei discusses training AI and who currently operates with the advantage of a tailwind.(01:42) – Early career in software development(04:53) – Interest in law(09:47) – Effective transitions(12:56) – Training AI(17:03) – The impact on fully integrated platforms(20:45) – Advice for the remainder of 2023Andrei Girenkov is a technology and business executive who m

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 software across a variety of companies, ranging from startups to large global enterprises. Prior to joining TransUnion, Deepika led product development as the CTO and VP of Engineering at Yello. She also served as SVP of Engineering at SPINS and held various technology leadership roles at SAP, Nielsen, and Motorola.Deepika holds a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Rutgers University and a Bachelor's in Electronic Engineering from Nagpur University in India. She serves on the Regional Advisory Board

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 the various speeds of digital transformation. Christopher dives into the idea of influence when your discipline is not siloed and discusses his passion for community building through music and music education.(01:42) – Introducing Christopher Paquette(03:21) – Digital transformation(07:04) – Decisioning(09:11) – Relationship building and collaboration(13:34) – Influence (18:10) – Outcomes and determining the “why”(21:51) – Indicators: starts, containment, and satisfaction(24:40) – Beginning a role in Q2(26:01)