Next In Line

Chantell Ghosh, CMO, joins host Karina Jimenez to share the deliberately nonlinear career that took her from practicing law to founding a communications agency focused on crisis storytelling and reputation management, and eventually into full-funnel marketing leadership. She reflects on why she never saw leaving law as losing what she had built, but as creating space for what could come next, and...

Samuel “Sammy” Baker, the youngest guest to join Next in Line, sits down in person with host Karina Jimenez to share how he turned one of the hardest periods of his life into Persevere Gear, a clothing brand he launched at just eleven years old. After facing health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and struggling to earn playing time on his travel basketball team, Sammy created the brand as...

Tamecka McKay, Chief Information Officer (IT Director) at the City of Fort Lauderdale, joins host Cesar Jimenez to share how some of the most challenging moments of her career reshaped the way she leads. Within her first eight months on the job, she faced three back-to-back disasters, including a historic flood that shut down critical systems at City Hall. With an infrastructure modernization plan...

Leslie Alore, Chief Marketing Officer, joins host Karina Jimenez to share the unexpected career journey that took her from dreams of becoming a fighter pilot and studying engineering to finding her path in marketing. She reflects on the difficult feedback that changed the way she thought about leadership, including a humbling 360-degree review that taught her to adapt her communication style witho...

Tricia Ferreira, Senior Vice President of Technology Product Management at World Fuel, joins host Cesar Jimenez to share the unexpected decision that took her from an accounting scholarship to computer science and eventually into GE’s IT leadership program and a career in technology. She reflects on the leadership lessons that shaped her along the way, from valuing attitude over aptitude and treat...

Luke Leinberger, Global Head of Social Media at Gravity Global, joins host Karina Jimenez to share how a background in creative writing led him into social media at a time when the channel was still considered a “nice to have.” From growing a boutique agency’s social offering to leading a full global practice after the agency’s acquisition by Gravity Global, Luke has spent the last decade watching...

Maurizio Carano, Vice President of Global Marketing at MCC Label, joins host Karina Jimenez to share the unconventional career journey that took him from chemistry and academia into product management and global marketing. He reflects on how curiosity, openness, and a willingness to pivot shaped his career, while sharing why the best leaders listen with the intent to understand and genuinely consi...

Andy Wang’s career in marketing started in an unexpected place: his family’s small business. What began as an opportunity to learn how a business operates from the ground up eventually led him into digital marketing, MarTech, customer experience, demand generation, and enterprise leadership at CDW. Through it all, one lesson has remained constant: people are at the center of every successful busin...

Sarah Handlos, Director of Brand, Video & Design at Q2, joins host Karina Jimenez to share how a high school graphic design class sparked a career that has spanned small advertising agencies, boutique design studios, and nearly 13 years building creative strategy at Q2. Along the way, mentors taught her to never be afraid to ask a question and to fall in love with the problem rather than the s...

Jose Benitez, CEO & AI Lead at Garnier Miami, joins host Karina Jimenez to share how nearly three decades in advertising and a lifelong curiosity for technology led him to become an early adopter of AI and an advocate for its role in the creative and marketing industries. Today, he applies that experience not only with clients and his agency, but also in the classroom, helping creatives unders...

Christina Shuffield’s path to the CIO seat was anything but traditional. She began studying psychology before discovering an unexpected aptitude for technology, eventually building a career across ERP, enterprise applications, product development, transformation, cybersecurity, and global IT leadership. Along the way, she learned that the skills that move technology leaders forward aren’t always t...

Samuel “Sammy” Baker, the youngest guest to join Next in Line, sits down in person with host Karina Jimenez to share how he turned one of the hardest periods of his life into Persevere Gear, a clothing brand he launched at just eleven years old. After facing health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and struggling to earn playing time on his travel basketball team, Sammy created the brand as...

After 29 years at Disney, Rachel Hutter joins host Karina Jimenez to reflect on a career that began with a childhood dream and ultimately took her from engineering and theme park operations to serving as Executive Vice President of Studio Operations across Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, Disney Animation, 20th Century, Searchlight, and more. Rachel shares why some of the most important career decisions...

Etter Hoang, former Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Tampa General Hospital, joins host Cesar Jimenez to share the unconventional career journey that took him from medical school to becoming a data and analytics leader in healthcare. Along the way, Etter learned to view every experience as a transferable skill and to continually seek opportunities that challenge him to grow. Etter shares why...

Jade Fernandez, Vice President of Human Resources at Diversified Administration, joins host Karina Jimenez to share how an early experience with a difficult manager sparked her interest in HR and ultimately shaped the people-first leader she is today. Jade shares how she built her own path into human resources by recognizing a need within her organization, creating a business case for an HR functi...

Domenic DiLullo, Chief Information Officer of Broward County, joins host Cesar Jimenez to share his unconventional journey from aspiring sports producer and technology auditor to leading one of South Florida’s largest public-sector technology organizations. Domenic reflects on how his experiences across cybersecurity, privacy, consulting and international business shaped his belief that effective...

William Velez, four-time Chief Information Officer and ORBIE Award-winning technology leader, joins host Cesar Jimenez to share his journey from studying electrical engineering in Puerto Rico to consulting at Accenture, earning his MBA at Wharton, and leading technology through a startup carve-out, a fintech IPO, and a global aerospace and defense organization. William reflects on how consulting t...

Richard Kelly, Chief Operating Officer of Make-A-Wish Southern Florida, joins host Karina Jimenez to share how his career journey led him from working with the Miami Dolphins to dedicating nearly three decades to creating life-changing experiences for children with critical illnesses and their families. Richard explains why a wish is far more than a single joyful moment and how it can provide chil...

In this episode of Next in Line, Cesar Jimenez sits down with Dr. Mark Campbell, technology executive and CIO for the Houston Rockets, for a conversation on leadership, career growth, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, mentorship, and building a meaningful career through focus and continuous learning. Mark shares how his unconventional path began in the United States Army, where he developed...

In this episode of Next in Line, Cesar Jimenez sits down with Aparna Mathur, Vice President of Global Information Technology at Nabors Industries and an ORBIE Award-winning technology leader, for a conversation on leadership, AI transformation, career growth, and building strong technology teams. Aparna shares how her unconventional path took her from studying pharmacy in India to earning her MIS...

 In this episode of Next in Line , Karina Jimenez sits down with Sean Maraj, Chief Marketing Officer and technology-driven business leader, for a conversation on the changing world of marketing, AI, leadership, and career growth. Sean shares how his nontraditional path took him from engineering and IT into sales, marketing, executive leadership, and AI strategy. He breaks down why modern marketing...

In Episode 73 of Next In Line, Cesar Jimenez sits down with Darryl Maraj, Chief Strategy Officer at Workato, for a powerful conversation about technology leadership, business strategy, AI adoption and the importance of bringing people along through transformation. Darryl shares his journey from studying marketing and finance to building a career in technology, leading global technology initiatives...

In this episode of Next In Line , Cesar Jimenez sits down with Robyn Doughtie , an award-winning CIO and technology leader responsible for supporting a complex government organization serving nearly one million residents. Robyn shares her journey from growing up in a small Oklahoma town and discovering an early interest in computers to beginning her career as a junior programmer and eventually bec...

Episode 71 of Next In Line features Suman Nallapati , Chief Artificial Intelligence and Information Officer for the City and County of Denver. Sumana shares her journey from nuclear physics and ERP programming to becoming one of the leading voices in public sector technology and AI. She and Cesar dive into what responsible AI adoption really looks like, why data and governance matter, how Denver i...

In this episode of Next In Line, Cesar Jimenez sits down with Roderick Harris, a Senior Director with more than 20 years of experience leading IT transformation and helping complex healthcare organizations move from strategy to execution. Roderick shares his journey from hands-on technology work to project management, governance, change leadership, and enterprise transformation. The conversation e...