The Kula Ring

AI is transforming more than just marketing; it’s reshaping how manufacturers hire, train, and build their future workforce. In this episode, Friddy Hoegener, President of SCOPE Recruiting, joins Jeff White and Carman Pirie to explore how AI is impacting recruiting, from automating interview notes to flooding applicant pools with polished, AI-generated resumes. The conversation dives into a critic...

B2B e-commerce is evolving rapidly, and manufacturers can’t afford to sit on the sidelines. In this episode, Meghan Flynn, VP of E-commerce and Digital at Justrite Safety Group, joins Jeff White and Carman Pirie to unpack the forces reshaping digital commerce in industrial markets. From generational shifts in buying behaviour to the rise of AI-driven and agentic commerce, Meghan explains why tradi...

What happens when a manufacturing company truly lives its mission? In this episode of The Kula Ring, Ian Antioch from NorthGate shares how the company formalized its people-first philosophy into the Be Ready Enrichment Program. Investing over $125,000 annually in employee development, financial planning, and life services, NorthGate has created a model that not only transforms lives but also stren...

What happens when a Gen Z marketer joins a legacy manufacturing company and throws out the modern social media playbook? In this episode, Lizzy Anderson of Hoosier Crane explains how she discovered that “cutting-edge” tactics weren’t resonating and why a return to simple, community-driven content worked better. From “2012 Facebook” style posts to highlighting local involvement and company values,...

In this episode of The Kula Ring, Jeff White and Carman Pirie sit down with Paul Kelly, COO of NY Creates, to explore the future of semiconductor innovation and workforce development. Paul shares how NY Creates is enabling next-generation chip technology through global partnerships, supporting startups and industry leaders alike, and tackling one of the sector’s biggest challenges: building a skil...

What happens when a guerrilla marketer enters the world of industrial manufacturing? In this episode of The Kula Ring, Jeff White and Carman Pirie are joined by Michael Garza, Marketing Specialist at Sanyo Denki America. Michael shares how his background in street team and experiential marketing, promoting concerts, festivals, and events, shaped his creative approach to B2B marketing. The conversa...

Caterpillar is one of the most recognizable industrial brands in the world; but even iconic brands face challenges when it comes to modern social media. In this episode of The Kula Ring, Jeff White and Carman Pirie are joined by Jenni Gritti, Senior Marketing Communications Consultant at Caterpillar, to explore how industrial brands can create social content that truly resonates. Jenni breaks down...

What happens when your company not only builds a better product, but creates a whole new category? In this episode of The Kula Ring, Jeff White and Carman Pirie speak with Florian Neugue, Regional Marketing Manager for North America at A-Safe. Florian explains how A-Safe pioneered polymer safety barriers that flex and return, replacing traditional steel barriers in industrial facilities. The conve...

How do you market a company that can’t always show what it makes? In this episode of The Kula Ring, Alex Dove, Senior Marketing & Communications Specialist at August Electronics, shares her unconventional path from sales into manufacturing marketing. With a background in textiles, furniture, and drapery manufacturing, Alex brings both inside and outside sales experience to her role, blending data-...

In this episode of The Kula Ring, Jeff White and Carman Pirie welcome Maeve Ferguson, founder of Maeve Ferguson Consulting, to explore the power of diagnostic thought leadership. Maeve shares how sophisticated assessments go far beyond traditional quiz funnels, acting as intelligent routing engines that personalize messaging, qualify leads, and optimize sales conversations. From collapsing long B2...

In this episode of The Kula Ring, Jeff White and Carman Pirie sit down with David Kilzer, founder and principal of Strategic Transformation Advisors, to explore the convergence of artificial intelligence and advanced humanoid robotics. Drawing on more than 50 years of experience in automation, David shares why this technological shift may dwarf previous revolutions like the internet and smartphone...

What happens when a manufacturing company applies startup thinking to one of the most conservative industrial sectors? In this episode of The Kula Ring, Jeff White and Carman Pirie are joined by Preston Wickersham, Director of Content Marketing at Giga Energy, to explore how vertically integrated manufacturing, founder-led storytelling, and “dogfooding” industrial equipment are reshaping electrica...

In this episode of The Kula Ring, Jeff White and Carman Pirie sit down with Cody Warner, Commercial Vice President and Board Member at Deep Trekker, to explore how the company evolved its go-to-market strategy as both the market and its customers matured. Cody shares Deep Trekker’s journey from hustling at trade shows with water tanks and on-the-floor sales to building highly targeted micro events...

In this episode of The Kula Ring, Jeff White and Carman Pirie are joined by David Ceballos, Marketing Manager for the Industrial Emissions Division at Testo Instruments. Drawing on his background in automotive sales, David shares a practical, buyer-centric approach to improving lead quality in B2B manufacturing. The conversation explores how asking better questions, reducing unnecessary form frict...

In this episode of The Kula Ring, Jeff White and Carman Pirie peel back the curtain on the Q4 edition of the Industrial Buyer Pulse from Kula Partners. Drawing on insights from 258 industrial buyers across the US and Canada, they explore buyer confidence, spending priorities, shortlisting behavior, and the growing role of digital self-service and AI in supplier research. The conversation digs into...

What does “marketing with purpose” actually look like in practice? In this episode of The Kula Ring, Jeff and Carman are joined by Alice DiSanto, VP of Marketing at Autonomous Solutions. Alice shares how deeply understanding culture, leadership, and people is the foundation of authentic, effective marketing. From conducting confidential listening tours to aligning teams around shared values, she e...

For our final episode in the Holiday Series we are returning to our chat about creating a brand made for loyal customers. Klein Tools has been manufacturing tools made for trades people for over 165 years. In today’s episode, we sat down with Greg Palese, Vice President of Marketing at Klein Tools, to discuss how they continue to grow engaged customer relationships. By speaking directly with end u...

For our second episode in our Holiday Series we are taking a second look at when we chatted with Cynthia Kellam, Global Senior Director, Digital, Data and Customer Experience Center of Excellence at TE Connectivity, again to discuss how collecting and using digital data can create better customer experiences. She explains their journey of building a better Voice of Customer system to help all busi...

For the first episode in our 2025 Holiday Series we are looking back at our conversation with Augie Ray, Senior Research Analyst and Executive Advisor of Customer Experience at Gartner, about how CX is the most important aspect of marketing and how to focus on customers' unmet needs.

In this episode of The Kula Ring, Hall of Fame keynote speaker and AI technology creator Sam Richter joins Jeff and Carman to explore how AI, search tools, and thoughtful research can help sales teams become dramatically more relevant to prospects. Sam shares why modern buyers expect sellers to arrive informed, how to use AI and search more effectively, and why “customer relevance management” shou...

In this episode of The Kula Ring, Rachel Cossette, Marketing Manager at Rogers Machinery Company, walks us through how she built a powerful, education-focused webinar program that has become a core pillar of the company’s marketing engine. Rachel explains why webinars were the perfect solution for delivering value, growing first-party data, and creating demand while strengthening relationships wit...

In this episode of The Kula Ring, sales expert, keynote speaker, and author Shawn Casemore joins Jeff and Carman to explore how sales have fundamentally changed, especially in the manufacturing sector. Shawn breaks down why today’s buyers spend far more time researching independently, how little time salespeople actually get in the buying cycle, and what both sales and marketing teams must do to e...

In this episode of The Kula Ring, Jennifer McQuilken, Vice President of Corporate Communications at Enchanted Rock, joins Jeff and Carman to discuss the unique challenge of marketing a single natural-gas generator platform across numerous industries and use cases. Jennifer shares how her team builds core messaging that works across verticals, then adapts it to fit the needs of hospitals, data cent...

Carl Tolbert, author of The 10 Immutable Laws of the Industrial Distribution Specialist and head engineer at Malloy Electric, joins The Kula Ring to discuss how industrial distribution is evolving in a world of consolidation, AI, and direct-to-customer manufacturing. He shares insights from interviews with 32 industry leaders and explains why value-added specialists are key to the survival of dist...

In this episode of The Kula Ring, we sit down with Cynthia Barnes, Global Marketing Content Specialist and Community Relations Manager at Clark Material Handling. Cynthia shares Clark's unique approach to marketing, which centers on authentic community engagement and philanthropy rather than traditional product-focused advertising. She delves into the origins of their "Raising Hope" initiative, in...