Industry Ignited Podcast

What does it really take to become a great aerospace engineer? In this episode of Industry Ignited, Dr. Leeanne Aguilar speaks with Dr. Rashid Ali, aerospace educator, UAV designer, and flight control expert, about the mindset that separates competent engineers from transformational ones. From childhood fascination with flight to rebuilding confidence after a glider crash, Dr. Ali shares how failu...

What separates high-performing manufacturing leaders from everyone else? It’s not just automation, AI, or bigger facilities. It’s the ability to build disciplined systems, develop strong teams, and make decisive moves under pressure. In this episode of Industry Ignited , Dr. Leeanne Aguilar speaks with Meher Billimoria, a manufacturing leader with over 27 years of experience spanning enterprise le...

In this episode of Industry Ignited , Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Salman A. Rahman, Chief Technology Officer of Decorate AI, to explore how artificial intelligence is transforming the $290 billion interior design industry. Salman shares how his background in technology and textiles led to the creation of Decorate AI, a platform built to eliminate guesswork, reduce costly design mistakes, an...

In this episode of Industry Ignited , host Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Lisa Voronkova , CEO of Ova Solutions and author of Hardware Bible: Build a Medical Device from Scratch , to unpack the real reasons medical devices fail, not in the lab, but in the real world. Lisa shares hard-earned lessons from her own founder journey, including the classic trap of building around “cool tech” instead...

Hydrogen is often talked about as the fuel of the future, but what does it actually look like in practice? In this episode of Industry Ignited, host Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Salim Rahemtulla, President and CEO of PowerTap Hydrogen Fuel Corp, to break down how hydrogen fuel cell vehicles work, where they make sense, and where they don’t. From 20-minute heavy-duty refueling to water-only t...

What if the most misunderstood part of a product category isn’t the product people obsess over, but the one that actually determines performance? In this episode of Industry Ignited , host Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Gary Ramey , CEO of Liberty Ammunition , for a wide-ranging conversation on leadership, brand strategy, innovation and what it takes to grow in highly regulated, high-stakes in...

What does it really take to turn breakthrough medical innovation into real-world impact when lives are on the line and the system isn’t built for speed? In this episode of Industry Ignited , host Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Joseph Rafferty , CEO of Vestec , a seasoned medtech leader who has spent decades operating at the intersection of innovation, commercialization, and clinical reality. J...

What does it take to turn an idea into a life-changing medical device? Peter Bonutti, MD explains how mentorship, curiosity and patient-driven innovation led to over 500 patents and 700 licensed products. Learn the importance of persistence, problem-solving, and ethical innovation in medicine.   Discover how Peter Bonutti is pushing the limits of medicine. From early orthopedic innovations to open...

In this episode of Industry Ignited , host Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Jordan Pollack , CEO and co-founder of Sub-Q Bionics , to explore breakthrough innovations in medtech that are transforming the lives of cancer survivors. Jordan, a biomedical engineer and medical device entrepreneur, shares his journey from Boston Scientific to founding SubQ Bionics, a company developing implantable bio...

What if the future of flight didn’t come from aerospace giants—but from a physicist who once broke world speed records on a human-powered bicycle? In this episode of Industry Ignited , host Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Damjan Zabovnik , CEO of EV Corporation , to explore how radical efficiency, unconventional thinking, and persistence are reshaping aviation. Damjan shares his journey from de...

In this episode of Industry Ignited , host Dr. Leeanne Aguilar speaks with Andrew Patrick , President and CEO of Eckert Machining Inc. , about why the most powerful driver of manufacturing performance isn’t equipment or automation, but culture. Drawing on decades of experience transforming large machine shops in Silicon Valley and Europe, Andrew explains how management unity, consistent leadership...

In this episode of Industry Ignited , host Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Matthew Guy, CEO of Niche 3D , to demystify additive manufacturing and show where 3D printing creates real business advantage beyond “hobby” perception. Matthew explains why the winners in 3D printing focus on applications and customer needs —not the novelty of the technology—then walks through how he designs and manufac...

On this episode of Industry Ignited , host Dr. Leeanne Aguilar speaks with Zack Lyon, Chief Executive Officer of H3Pelvic Therapy Systems , an industrial designer and engineer with 30+ years of experience and 40+ U.S. patents, about how a personal health crisis sparked a breakthrough approach to pelvic pain care. Zack shares how the “Keep It Simple” design philosophy shaped a home-based pelvic the...

In this episode of Industry Ignited , host Dr. Leeanne Aguilar interviews Robert Poe, President and CEO of Olon USA , about what it takes to move a fragile lab concept into a real-world, life-changing medicine—at scale, safely, and with quality. Robert shares his unconventional leadership journey (from combat medic and lab maintenance to CEO), the power of mentors who allow people to learn through...

In this episode of Industry Ignited , host Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Angie Griffin, Chief Commercial Officer at Third Coast , to unpack what it really takes to scale a fast-growing chemical company without losing agility, safety, or customer intimacy. Angie shares her unconventional path from English degrees to commercial leadership, then breaks down Third Coast’s core growth challenge—wh...

In this Industry Ignited episode, Dr. Leeanne Aguilar interviews Robert Swint , CEO of ATA Associates , whose 50-year career spans NASA’s Apollo and Space Shuttle programs to some of the world’s most complex accident and failure investigations. Drawing on his 24 years at NASA—including work on Apollo, Apollo 13 recovery, Shuttle avionics integration, and space-station safety—Bob explains how syste...

In this Industry Ignited episode, Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Tim Mikhelashvili , CEO and Co-Founder of Amedea Pharma , to explore how life sciences can achieve elite performance by borrowing principles from Olympic sports and data science. Drawing on more than 20 years across pharma, biotech, and medical affairs, Tim shares how early exposure to drug recalls and poor manufacturing conditio...

In this Industry Ignited episode, Dr. Leeanne Aguilar talks with Andrew Bish, CEO of BISH Enterprises and Hemp Harvest Works (Giltner, Nebraska) and President of the Hemp Feed Coalition , about what it takes to modernize agriculture when the barriers aren’t just engineering—they’re markets, policy, and perception. Andrew shares how returning to his small-town roots shaped his leadership, how corpo...

In this Industry Ignited episode, Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Chandan Manocha, CEO of Player Footwear Company in Delhi, India , to explore how a third-generation manufacturer can be modernized through science, design thinking, and customer-first innovation. Taking over the business at just 19 during COVID, Chandan used the shutdown as a reset moment—revamping operations, shifting from tradi...

In this Industry Ignited episode, Dr. Leeanne Aguilar interviews Richard Rives Bird, President of Rives Consult , on why breakthrough medical devices don’t succeed on innovation alone—they succeed when founders pair great science with the right commercialization strategy, regulatory pathway, and reimbursement reality. Richard shares how he moved from physics into clinical affairs after a CEO recog...

In this episode of Industry Ignited , Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Sol Bobst, President of Solar Ranch Development Company and ToxSci Advisors , to explore how Texas can meet a rapidly accelerating power demand through practical, scalable renewable energy development. Sol shares how his background as a board-certified toxicologist and applied scientist led him from oil and gas into solar ent...

In this episode of Industry Ignited , Dr. Leeanne Aguilar interviews Dr. Naresh Sharma, CEO and President of NASHERO , a lifelong aerospace innovator whose passion for flight began in childhood and evolved into decades of breakthrough engineering. Dr. Sharma shares how deep fundamentals, relentless curiosity, and world-class collaborations—most notably with Stanford’s Professor Stephen W. Tsai—hav...

In this episode of Industry Ignited , Dr. Leeanne Aguilar speaks with David Esposito, Chief Executive Officer of ONL Therapeutics , a decorated combat veteran and seasoned healthcare executive who has successfully built and scaled multiple life science companies. David shares how leadership forged on the battlefield now guides his work at the forefront of biotech innovation, where ONL Therapeutics...

In this episode of Industry Ignited , Dr. Leeanne Aguilar sits down with Brianne “Bri” Bustos, Chief Information Officer at CCMC , to unpack how modern CIOs transform technology from a cost center into a strategic growth engine. Bri shares her journey across energy, archaeology, and property management, revealing why strong data foundations, deep business partnerships, and relentless communication...

In this episode of Industry Ignited , Dr. Leeanne Aguilar interviews Lawrence “Larry” Richenstein, Founder and CEO of WePower Technologies (GEMS) , to uncover how kinetic energy harvesting is poised to eliminate batteries forever. Larry shares his unconventional entrepreneurial journey, the costly lessons that shaped his leadership, and the groundbreaking physics behind GEMS—technology capable of...