The Innovation Meets Leadership Podcast

Previously, Lee Towe was the Director of Product Development at a bank. He left that job to start Innovators International, Inc. with a focus on developing and delivering training and facilitation around creativity. Lee also wrote a book on creativity called "Why Didn't I Think of That?".  Now he focused on helping people see ways they can "grow the pie." Not just grab a slice. Main Takeaways: ● T...

Today’s guest is the Senior Vice President of If/Then, Dave Rickett. Dave is a creative visionary in digital strategy and user interface. He is also a strong proponent of user-first methodologies. He helped shape the user experience for brands such as Coca-Cola, The College Board, and ING. Dave strongly believes that User-First Innovation is key to a successful, scalable, long-term business. If yo...

Nagini Indugula is a product leader with a lifelong passion for bringing user value to the forefront of strategy and decision making. She has vast experience in digital marketplaces, consumer, and enterprise SAAS products at startup to mid-sized companies. Most recently, as the VP/Head of Product, she oversaw the Product, Platform, and Design team at NCSA Sports. Before NCSA Sports, she was a Prod...

Dave Allen is a product executive who spent the last 25 years leading multiple innovation teams at various start-ups and fortune 500 organizations. Within those roles, he has launched a host of market-leading solutions for small and large financial institutions. You can find him speaking at various conferences and even at the Federal Reserve, focusing on how technology can bring greater financial...

Today my guest is Abdel Tefridj. Abdel is the CEO and CPO at Data Bid Machine, designed to optimize companies' traffic acquisition. He is a technology and product executive with an extensive background in eCommerce, data science, and software development. He is advising several growing companies in their digital transformation and scaling their data science initiatives. Main Takeaways: ● Customer-...

Matt Morasky is back for round two of our discussion. If you missed the first discussion, I urge you to go back to the previous episode titled "Innovation and Design Thinking with Matt Morasky - Part 1" before listening to this episode. Through the Growth Initiative Brief process, one idea spiders into three ideas: spiders into five ideas and then spiders into more and more ideas. In this episode,...

Matt Morasky has been a practitioner of design thinking and visual thinking for more than a decade. In the course of designing and delivering scores of programs throughout Europe and North America, Asia, and Africa, Matt established the Amsterdam Visual Thinking School and has written, taught, and spoke on the topic around the globe. Matt is also co-author of The Art of Opportunity, a practical gu...

With the advancement of technology comes the rise of its applications to businesses. Joining us today is Ron Hayman, the COO & Chief Cloud Officer of AVANT Communications. Ron is an experienced global executive, having worked in 25 countries with a talent for managing turn arounds, start-ups, and growing departments to scale. He is here to talk about why the demand for “Cloud” is continuously...

Today we are continuing our series on innovation. Our guest for this episode is Jamie Silva. Jamie is a Product Development Team Leader at Paylocity . He is a proven entrepreneurial product leader whose passion in life is building products with a start-up mentality. His career’s success is a result of continuous learning and growth guided by personal goals and professional fulfillment. Main Takeaw...

Today we are starting a series on Innovation. This episode is all about The Art of Corporate Innovation. I want to talk to you today about how to build a culture that focuses on innovation and how to look for this when you are potentially checking out a new company. Furthermore, I want to demystify the word innovation. Sometimes this word can feel lofty and disconnected from the day to day work we...

Today’s episode is really special. Joining us today is Laurie Halter, and we talked about a subject that hits home for the both of us; mentorship and sponsorship. Laurie is the owner of Charisma Communications, a boutique public relations agency specializing in automotive, retail, and technology industries. She is also the host of the Carearing Podcast ( https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/carea...

Joining us today is the Director of Marketing at AutoLeadStar and "growth hacker," Ilana Shabtay. Ilana believes that what brought her to where she is today is her ability to apply and take constructive criticism. As a team leader, she promotes not just her growth but also the growth of all her team members and believes that to succeed as a team, you have to understand your member's strengths and...

Today I am joined by author, international keynote speaker, host of FlipMyFunnel Podcast, and co-founder of Terminus, Sangram Vajre. Sangram is passionate about being a positive impact on people’s lives. He believes that a clear sense of belonging must exist within your community to be a successful organization. Main Takeaways in this episode: 1.) Sangram’s thought leadership idea - belongship 2.)...

Today we are speaking with an accomplished engineer, businesswoman, and the founder & CEO of Capstone Performance Solutions, Dr. Tina Woodard. Dr. Tina is an accomplished HR leader that aids in implementing innovative organizational effectiveness and leadership development. She emphasizes that to be a good leader, you have to lead with empathy, patience, and communication. Main Takeaways on th...

Today we are speaking with entrepreneur, speaker, software engineer, and founder of 7Factor Software, Jeremy Duvall. Jeremy believes that it’s both an art and a science when hiring technical talents and that good culture is essential within your company to create an environment where people can enjoy themselves yet still deliver desired results. Main Takeaways on this episode: 1.) Hiring for Cultu...

Our guest today, Dr. Dawn Marie Kier is affectionately known as the “heart doctor.” She is the founder of New Dawn Consulting and has spent the last 22 years helping leaders, franchisees, and organizations in the fast-casual, franchise, and retail space. She helps leaders identify and remove the root problems that keep teams and organizations from achieving desired outcomes. Main Takeaways from th...

Today we are speaking with the technology executive, investor, venture capitalist, and the SVP of Equifax, Lo Li. Lo is very passionate about spotting high potential leaders. She puts more emphasis on choosing leaders that are resilient and are comfortable with failure. Leaders will fail, and that’s perfectly fine as long as they learn from it and grow over time. Main Takeaways on this episode: 1....

Today we are speaking with the author, coach, and founder of TalentRevolution.me, Kene Iloenyosi. Kene Iloenyosi teaches his clients how to discover their purpose and work in their Career Sweet Spot. This process starts with identifying their innate abilities, and how best to use them in a fulfilling and engaging career. Main Takeaways on this episode: 1.) Maximizing Your Natural-Given Talents 2.)...

Today we are speaking with a writer, speaker, and founder of ConnextionPoint, Amy Balog. Amy designed a comprehensive coaching approach that allows leaders to harness their most significant internal leadership asset, their center. The experience of Amy's clients is a journey to find their peace as the ultimate source of their potential and performance. Main Takeaways on this episode: 1.) Peace Ove...

We have started a series focused on the most important assets in our businesses, people, and what they bring to the table every day which is their talent. In this episode, we will talk about identifying the right people to hire and promote and how we should think about our own talent and the talent in others. Main Takeaways on this episode - The X Factor on Talent: 1.) Humility 2.) Teachable 3.) F...

This is the last episode in this series “Leading in Crisis” and I’m taking this moment to talk about the racial injustices that have resurfaced to headlines upon the George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery deaths, amongst countless others. Leaders, it’s about time to end the silence. How does race play a role in business and on our teams? What can we do? Where do we begin? Let’s talk about it. Main Takeawa...

Today we caught up with Theresa Ward, founder of The Fiery Feather. Theresa’s clients are brought peace of mind through her expertise in training, communications, project management, relationships, and overall culture development. She embraces work that involves both big-picture strategies and rigorous roll-up-the-sleeves tasks. She ensures that her clients will continue to compete at a high level...

AVP of Product and Engineering at Cox Automotive, Ebenezer Ikonne, helps teams develop and deliver software solutions that are transforming the automotive industry. He is a champion of Agile and Lean practices that solve the challenges of a dynamic business landscape. He is passionate about evolving how work gets done and wants people to experience “Joy At Work”. Main Takeaways on this episode: 1....

I had the pleasure of speaking with the award-winning writer, filmmaker, founder of Bedheadmedia.com, Phil Stevens. Phil is a relational leader that started in business by improving the way big companies service their customers in the corporate world. He’s a storyteller, business strategist and leads the creative charge. Main Takeaways on this episode: 1.) Innovation In the Midst Of Crisis 2.) Eve...

Aaron Born is the Men’s Ministry Director for Victory Church, a multi-site church of over 20,000 households and 140 nations based in the Atlanta area. We talk about leading and engaging volunteer teams across 3 campuses. Main Takeaways on this episode: 1.) How to engage volunteers 2.) Centralization vs. decentralization of volunteer teams 3.) Why returning to “normal” after COVID-19 may not be a g...