Innovation and the Digital Enterprise

The problem of trying to work on the next big thing in software without bankrupting the company on research and development can be a tricky balancing act. To successfully manage such operations, leaders need to think tactically. Reza Rooholamini is the Vice President of Enterprise Architecture and Technology at CCC Information Services Inc . One way that CCC has managed this issue is by creating a...

Private sector companies spend a lot of time innovating to create the best possible user experience for potential customers. Government agencies by contrast, tend to work with outdated, analog tools. Why aren’t government agencies following suit? Sean T. O’Kelly spent more than twenty years in the tech private sector. When he was appointed CIO for Financial and Professional Regulation at the State...

Gone are the days when a company’s IT teams just babysat servers. Today, individual services and outside vendors dominate the industry. With this fast pace of recent technological leaps brings new opportunities to harness technology that can help businesses find creative ways to scale. Karen Fedyszyn, an award-winning Information Technology Executive, sat down with Pat and Shelli for a wide-rangin...

Failure isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, Sean Brown, CEO of YCharts , wants to hire failures – they are, after all, risk-takers that aren’t afraid to try something new. On this week’s episode, Sean joins Pat for a wide-ranging conversation about the lessons Sean has learned in his 25+ years starting, selling, buying, and running various companies. Sean talks to us about why he believes the KISS...

Open communication and high performing teams don’t just appear out of nowhere. In order to have a team that gels, you need to put in the work to create a space in which all team members know the vision of your company, have clear expectations, and know how to course-correct when things go awry. Eric Foster, a CIO with experience spanning multiple technology firms sat down to speak with Pat and She...

It seems like every entrepreneur’s background story starts with the same idea: scratching their own itch. For today’s guest, Allison Robinson , the problem wasn’t how to use some new technology or improve an existing product. It was how to return to the workforce as a mother.  Finding herself looking for the resources she needed and coming up empty, Allison founded the Mom Project to help one of t...

What’s it like to sell your company and something you’ve poured your heart into for over 7 years? On the latest episode of the Innovation and the Digital Enterprise podcast, Shelli and Pat are joined by Zack Johnson, VP of Business Development at Visier. Prior to Visier, Zack started and ran Syndio, an analytics provider based in Chicago, for over 7 years. Zack takes us through his incredible back...

In this episode of the Innovation and the Digital Enterprise podcast, Randy Rivera stops by to chat with Pat & Shelli. Randy is a long time financial executive, entrepreneur and innovator in the emerging Fintech ecosystem. Randy gives his insights into the Chicago ecosystem, first as an executive then as an entrepreneur with quointec, the company he founded in 2018.  [00:33] - Who is Randy Rivera?...

Hosts Shelli Nelson and Patrick Emmons are joined today by Adam Hecktman, long time civic technology executive at Microsoft. Adam shares how the role of technology in communities has evolved throughout the years. We discuss the social impact of technology, efficient government and the challenge of keeping talent in Chicago.  [03:00] - 27 years and 10,000 great days at Microsoft [03:50] - The chall...

In this second installment of “Innovation and the Digital Enterprise” Shelli Nelson and Patrick Emmons welcome Christian Anschuetz to talk about his role as UL ’s Chief Digital Officer, having courage in the face of uncertainty and the criticality of trust in all relationships.  As CDO at UL , Christian is responsible for embedding innovative technology and digital trends in operations to accelera...

On DragonSpears first installment of “Innovation and the Digital Enterprise” Shelli Nelson and Patrick Emmons welcome Roman Dumiak to talk about how technology affects collaborative efforts in anything from programming to E-sports to smart speakers.  Roman Dumiak , who currently works at a small private equity firm giving technical advice on potential clients, previously worked at Allstate Insuran...

Welcome to the Innovation and the Digital Enterprise podcast, hosted by Patrick Emmons and Shelli Nelson . Join us as we interview successful visionaries and leaders, giving you an insight into how they drive and support innovation within their organizations. Each episode we'll focus on a different aspect of leveraging the digital revolution like… building a culture of innovation overcoming a fear...