Innovation and the Digital Enterprise

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Military training can result in a staggering number of injuries, and virtual reality is ready to intervene. HAVIK Chief Operations Officer Glenn Banton is passionate about the role of virtual reality in military training and continued innovations in visual fidelity and acceleration in learning.

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.