Industry Ignited Podcast

What if one breakthrough could dramatically improve the efficiency of electric vehicles, data centers, renewable energy systems, and the power grid? In this episode of Industry Ignited , Dr. Leeanne Aguilar interviews Don Currie, CEO of Hillcrest Energy Technologies Ltd., to explore the innovation behind zero-voltage switching and why it has the potential to change how electricity is converted and...

In this episode of Industry Ignited , Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Ayesha Ibrahim , CEO of Honey Corn, to explore how one natural ingredient, honey, became the foundation of an award-winning ethical skincare brand. What started as a personal search for relief from postpartum eczema evolved into a global entrepreneurial journey driven by sustainability, innovation, and a passion for creating...

Why Reliability Wins Missions isn't just a statement; it's the philosophy behind the next generation of autonomous aircraft. In this episode of Industry Ignited , Dr. Leeanne Aguilar interviews Mark Strauss , Founder and CEO of Wave Aerospace , to discuss how his company is redefining UAV performance with aircraft designed to succeed when conventional drones can't. Discover how inno...

What does it take to build successful companies across multiple industries and then apply those lessons to one of the biggest challenges in commercial energy? In this episode, Andrew Stock joins Dr. Leeanne Aguilar to discuss the future of solar, energy storage, geothermal power, and the critical role of financing in helping projects get built. Andrew explains why many solar companies struggle, ho...

What separates a successful battery company from one that runs out of money before reaching scale? In this episode, Mark Hagedorn shares the operational playbook behind building and growing battery energy storage businesses, including lessons learned from startups, manufacturing facilities, supply chains, and large-scale energy projects. He explains why great technology alone isn't enough and...

What if manufacturers could reduce energy costs, lower carbon emissions, and modernize critical infrastructure without investing any capital upfront? In this episode of Industry Ignited, Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with David Kipling, CEO of On-site Energy Group, to explore how innovative energy financing models are helping industrial companies unlock major savings while accelerating their susta...

What if the next breakthrough in AI, engineering, or product innovation isn't something humans invent, but something nature has already perfected? In this episode of Industry Ignited, Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Sidney Rostan, Founder and CEO of Bioxegy, France's leading biomimicry R&D design office, to explore how companies are using nature-inspired solutions to solve some of...

What really happens when manufacturers compete only on price? In this powerful conversation, David Thuro explains why cheap manufacturing often leads to hidden costs, quality failures, and long-term risk. As the leader of Thuro Metal Products, David has spent decades producing mission-critical precision parts for aerospace, defense, automotive, and industrial markets where accuracy, reliability, a...

Why do so many breakthrough technologies never make it into the real world? In this powerful conversation, Mussel Polymers CEO George Boyajian breaks down the hidden reasons most deep tech startups fail and what founders should be doing differently from day one. Drawing from decades of experience in university commercialization, venture creation, and advanced materials, George shares the exact fra...

What if the biggest problem in electric vehicles is something manufacturers can’t even see? In this fascinating episode of Industry Ignited, Dr. Leeanne Aguilar interviews Efrat Avnet Steinberg, the CEO of INNER, a company pioneering breakthrough CT scanning technology for EV battery inspection. Together, they dive into the hidden defects impacting EV batteries, why traditional quality checks are...

What if the biggest advantage in manufacturing wasn’t a new machine, but a smarter tooling strategy? In this episode, West Ohio Tool CEO Kaci King explains how custom-engineered cutting tools are helping manufacturers slash downtime, increase productivity, and save millions in operational costs. From solving “impossible” machining problems to creating tooling solutions that dramatically outperform...

What does it really take to lead in industries where timing, compliance, trust, and execution can determine success or failure? In this episode of Industry Ignited, Dr. Leeanne Aguilar interviews Captain Pablo Ahumada, CEO of NEXA Industrial Solutions (GEDEF Holdings), about his journey from construction and logistics into global defense manufacturing and aerospace ambitions. Pablo shares hard-ear...

Hypersonic technology promises speeds beyond Mach 5, but there’s a critical problem most people overlook: the materials. In this deep-dive conversation, Dr. Ed Pope shares over 30 years of experience developing advanced ceramics and composites designed to survive extreme environments. From reusable heat shields to next-generation carbon-carbon materials, he explains what actually happens when syst...

Thinking about investing in automation? Watch this first. In this episode, Bill Willard shares decades of experience helping manufacturers move from “shiny object” automation to scalable, real-world solutions that deliver results. He explains why most companies underestimate the true cost of automation, why labor reduction is often the wrong ROI focus, and how overlooking operators and maintenance...

Damien’s journey is anything but ordinary. After losing his father, he stepped into leadership with little experience in the industry and a promise to keep the business alive. Today, he leads a company at the forefront of aerospace innovation, turning simple mechanical parts into smart, connected technologies. In this conversation, he opens up about overcoming rejection, scaling from scratch, bett...

The future of work is being rebuilt right now and manufacturing is at the center of it. In this episode, Connie Gunther shares how emerging technologies like AI are transforming workforce training, accelerating certification, and helping companies scale faster than ever before. But technology alone isn’t the answer. True transformation comes from aligning industry, education, and community in a wa...

In this episode of Industry Ignited , we challenge one of the biggest assumptions in renewable energy: that bigger is always better. Host Dr. Leeanne Aguilar speaks with Frank Gagnon of Wind-Do Energy about a new model for wind power, mid-scale turbines designed to work in networks, not just massive standalone farms. Frank shares how his industrial engineering mindset led him to rethink wind techn...

In this conversation, we break down the technology behind a revolutionary GPS chip designed to overcome the limitations of traditional RF systems. By digitizing up to 90% of the radio frequency architecture, Tom Trill and his team have created a solution that dramatically improves efficiency, scalability, and cost. This shift allows devices to achieve high-performance positioning and timing while...

What would make someone walk away from a secure, prestigious career path and risk everything to build something from scratch? In this episode of Industry Ignited , Lindsay Gorrill shares the pivotal moment that changed the course of his life. On track to become a partner at KPMG, he made a decision most people wouldn’t: he chose uncertainty over security. What followed was a journey filled with fa...

In this episode of Industry Ignited , Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Marcos Pordeus de Paula, CEO of Frigo King and Power Mobile, to explore what truly drives competitive advantage in transport refrigeration. While many companies compete on price, Marcos shares why Frigo King chose a different path, focusing on uptime, durability, service, and real-time data to deliver long-term value for cust...

What separates leaders who simply manage engineering from those who turn it into a true engine for growth, margin, and shareholder value? In this episode of Industry Ignited , Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Bill Kleftis, CEO of Spartan Consulting Solutions, to unpack the real-world leadership lessons behind building high-performing engineering organizations. With experience spanning HVAC, medi...

Why do so many brilliant innovations fail? Often it’s not the technology, it’s the lack of a clear path to commercialization. In this episode of Industry Ignited , host Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Nigel Marc Roberts , CEO of GraphMarine , to discuss the real reason great ideas struggle to become profitable businesses. With experience leading 23 technology commercialization journeys , Nigel...

What if the biggest barrier to faster, safer, and more cost-effective defense manufacturing isn’t technology, but the path to deploying it? In this episode of Industry Ignited , Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Dr. Dean Bartles , President & CEO of the Manufacturing Technology Deployment Group (MTDG) , to discuss how innovation actually reaches defense manufacturing. With over 30 years of ex...

As AI accelerates and the pace of change intensifies, the biggest question facing organizations today is this: what human skills will determine who thrives and who struggles in the future of work? In this episode of Industry Ignited , Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with David Powell, co-founder of The Golden Thread, to explore the people skills that technology cannot replace. Drawing from more than...

Clean energy has a supply problem and almost no one is talking about it. As governments push electrification and AI drives power demand higher than ever, the materials required to build batteries and upgrade the grid remain concentrated in the hands of geopolitical competitors. Mike Reilly breaks down why lithium extraction, synthetic graphite, and critical mineral processing are the real battlegr...