IT Visionaries

There’s no bigger buzzword in technology than the term digital transformation. Stressed with the burden of fading legacy technologies, for years companies have viewed the process of upgrading their technology stack as a luxury rather than a necessity. Now, as more employees abide by work from home orders, that directive has shifted and those transformations are at the forefront of companies' needs...

All good things must come to an end and on this episode of IT Visionaries,  after more than 200 episodes, countless conversations and numerous trips to the top of the Apple charts,  Ian Faison is stepping down as host of the show and passing the baton to  Albert Chou. Albert joins Ian to give some background on who he is and his background in tech and entrepreneurship, and then the two chat about...

If you ask most CIOs and CTOs what their biggest concern is, a majority of those leaders might respond with one simple question: How do we manage risk in a way that is effective and cost-efficient? Jon Siegler is the Chief Product Officer at LogicGate , a company that’s working to solve that very question with its platform. In this episode of IT Visionaries , Jon discusses how the platform is revo...

When you ask Ted Elliott what gets him excited the answer is a simple one: DevOps. As the CEO of Copado , Ted is helping companies around the world realize how DevOps can assist their organizations, even if they don’t understand how to code. Ted joined IT Visionaries to discuss exactly how Copado is helping to democratize DevOps. Plus, Ted details how his platform, in assistance with Salesforce, i...

When you’re six years old and your dad says, ‘Take these discs and reformat the hard drive to this computer,’ you know you’re destined for a career in technology. Those were the words Joe Lennon heard in his youth, and today, Joe is the co-founder and CTO of Workvivo , a company that is helping employees communicate with their peers, while staying actively engaged with their employer. Joe joined I...

When you’re a multi-time CTO, like Ryan Donovan , your objective is a simple one: find the next challenge that coincides with a mission that excites you. As the Chief Technology Officer at Hootsuite, the world leader in social media management, Ryan believes he has found that challenge. Ryan joined IT Visionaries for a discussion centered around how he manages a global staff from the comfort of hi...

If you ask Sasha Siddhartha , there are three core barriers that have prevented consumers from living a healthier lifestyle: price, geography, and information. Now, as the co-founder and CTO of Thrive Market , Sasha is working to eliminate those barriers in order to provide consumers with healthier options, all at the click of a mouse. On this episode of IT Visionaries, Sasha discusses the role Th...

Sean McDermott likes to say that his claim to fame is that he sent the very first email at the US Department of Justice. And while he enjoys being a part of that footnote in IT history, Sean — now the Founder and CEO of Windward Consulting Group — admits that the tech industry has come a long way since then, and it continues to evolve. Right now, the industry finds itself at an intersection — the...

Intro Through the first half of 2020, the United States has reported nearly 30,000 gun violence deaths to date. And if you ask Rob Huberty, that number is 30,000 too many. As a former Navy SEAL turned entrepreneur, the rising levels of gun violence each year frustrates him, but now as the Chief Operating Officer of ZeroEyes , Rob is doing something about those numbers. Rob says, “When you see some...

Digital transformation is a buzzword that’s fun to say hard to grasp. As more and more organizations embark on these technological journeys, are they really being led by the proper steward?  Rich Penkoski, the CEO of Markets for Deloitte Consulting, believes that in order for companies to have a smooth transition,you have to think of it as  a process that involves two key members of the C-Suite. O...

When Alex Krug was an executive at Behance, he noticed that quite a few tools had been developed to help encourage signups and onboard customers, but once they were working with the product, there was very little help offered. This was a problem he thought he could help solve, which is why he founded Baton. Today, as the founder and CEO of Baton, Alex is helping people streamline their actual work...

Every company has a breaking point. A moment when an organization realizes it is overwhelmed by an avalanche of inbound calls and emails that bombard personnel with the same rudimentary questions over -and over again. It’s a vexing problem that resembles a scene from Groundhog Day , where team members feel as if they are constantly reliving the same day. But what if there was an easy data-powered...

What happens when you combine A.I. with human intelligence? One answer is that you get Unbabel, a machine translation service on a mission to solve one of humanity’s most vexing challenges: language barriers. At Unbabel, the ultimate goal is to be able  to communicate with anyone, anywhere in the world regardless of their native language. But to achieve that lofty goal we need data, we need transl...

Jeff Ton is honest and direct when he says nobody grows up wanting to be a CIO. If you ask Jeff, he’ll say he thought he’d be a rockstar, touring the backroads of the country in a van, playing gigs on weeknights. That was always the plan...until an impulse purchase of a Commodore 64 changed Jeff’s path forever. Jeff is now a multi-time CIO, currently serving as an IT Strategy Advisor at InterVisio...

Ryan Graciano remembers the early days of Credit Karma like they just happened. Born in the midst of a financial crisis, Credit Karma’s rise to significance didn’t seem certain, and Ryan remembers thinking to himself numerous times, “Are we going to make it?” Today, Credit Karma serves more than 100 million users, and provides consumers with tools that empower them to take the biggest financial st...

Derek Weeks has spent his entire career teaching, educating, and fostering relationships. From his first job with Atari teaching people how to use its consoles, to his role today as a Vice President and DevOps advocate at Sonatype , Derek works to educate others. Derek joined IT Visionaries for a conversation centered on the growth of the DevOps industry and how he is helping to grow that communit...

More than likely you have uttered the phrase, “Yeah, I’ll just Dropbox that to you.” The turn of phrase has become so popular thanks to the capabilities Dropbox has offered to the masses. People around the world can share and store documents, pictures and information simply by dragging a file into a folder. But how does that file get stored, and how do those precious items live in a space that see...

Alistair Fulton has always considered himself a mechanic. After all, his job as the Vice President and General Manager of Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Business is to utilize the tools provided to him in his toolbox and give customers the appropriate solution. The only difference is his toolkit helps millions of people across the world stay connected through a variety of different technologies. F...

Venture capital funding for clean energy technology companies has declined in recent years, but one new fund is looking to buck that trend. Dan Goldman is the Co-Founder & Managing Director of Clean Energy Ventures, and he is trying to be a catalyst, and change the narrative by providing those companies with the resources they need to make long-lasting positive impacts. Dan joined IT Visionaries t...

Business incubators or accelerators have helped launch some of the greatest companies of our time and one is hoping to fund the next unicorn looking to save our world. Dawn Lippert is the CEO of Elemental Excelerator , a company investing big money in the hopes of a better tomorrow. Dawn joined IT Visionaries to discuss the work her company is doing in places like Hawaii, California and Asia. And...

Dan Blum is an internationally recognized expert in security and privacy, he is also the author of the book Rational Cybersecurity for Business. On this episode of IT Visionaries , Dan has an honest and thoughtful conversation on why the role of the Chief Information Security Officer is often buried within IT departments, the importance of buy-in among leadership and why zero-trust is often not th...

For many, the idea of walking into a store and finding new clothes that actually fit is non-existent. The designs are either too bulky, or the lengths of the sleeves and pants are too long. Frustrated, many leave and do their shopping online instead. Except the experience isn’t much better there. Savitude co-founders Nick Clayton and Camilla Olson are on a mission to help turn the situation around...

For years, customers have been frustrated with the sales process due to the breakdown in communication that happens when multiple people are involved. But what if that process was streamlined? Imagine a world where a sales representative, regardless of experience with an account, could pick-up where the previous person left off? That’s the world Jim Benton and Chorus.ai are working to create. Jim...

In the midst of a global pandemic, when social interactions are limited and many of us only have access to basic necessities that are deemed essential, more and more individuals are pivoting to online therapy to deal with anxiety, depression, and overall strife. Roni Frank , the Co-founder of Talkspace , joined IT Visionaries to discuss how their app is filling an important gap in the healthcare i...

As more-and-more of people work from home and restrict their trips out of the home, eCommerce companies continue to be the ones reaping the benefits. One of those companies is The  RealReal , a consignment giant with a focus on bringing luxury brands to everyone. Josh Schlanger , the Head of DevOps and Product Support at The RealReal, joined IT Visionaries to discuss how eCommerce sites operate, h...