Innovation and the Digital Enterprise

Technology is about solving problems and building solutions. This week’s guest, Sandee Kastrul, recognized the overlap in competencies needed for both technology and community leadership when she co-founded i.c.stars. This week she talks with Pat and Shelli about teaching technology with systems thinking, a community-lens, and an orientation of ‘how can I help’ versus ‘what can I get’.For more than two decades, i.c.stars has been developing tech talent in Chicago through a rigorous four month curriculum rooted in midwestern practicality and centered in resilience. Each cycle, a new cohort of interns is divided into teams to form their own consulting companies to compete in an RFP process for a Chicago tech company. It’s not a drill, these are real projects and the teams are building real software. It is an immersive, hands-on approach that has fueled the program's continued success with a 90% graduate placement rate.Listen in to hear more about the transformative power of the i.c. stars community and how to take part by signing up for the next High Tea. (01:08) - i.c.stars mission(07:00) - Resiliency in candidates(09:19) - Untapped talent(14:19) - Chicago tech culture(20:42) - High Tea(26:56) - Program breakdownSandee Kastrul is president and co-founder of i.c.stars, an innovative nonprofit leadership and technology training program founded in 1999 to prepare inner-city adults for technology careers and community leadership.Prior to i.c.stars, Sandee’s experience as an educator, diversity trainer, educational consultant and a performing artist drew her creative talents to the forefront. Her accomplishments include designing a comprehensive science and civics interactive program for GED students at Jobs for Youth, implementing a professional development program with Harold Washington College Career Center, developing experiential learning modules for over 70 schools and creating artist in residency programs as well as training artists to work in classrooms for arts organizations.If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Innovation and the Digital Enterprise in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.Podcast episode production by Dante32.

Rand McNally’s Chief Technology Officer, Steve Caudill joins Pat and Shelli this week to talk about building and maintaining the culture of a startup inside a well-established brand with a 165-year history. They cover a range of topics including recruiting talent in a highly competitive market, creating tight feedback loops between customers and engineers, and structuring product development for the shortest path to revenue. (01:13) - Technical product development(03:17) - Recruiting product makers(05:46) - Seek out diverse perspectives (08:35) - Pair programming during interviews(10:19) - Addressing salary expectations(12:38) - Making products that have impact(17:18) - Challenging remote work trends(19:15) - Taking ownership of what you make(22:03) - Buy-in from the business side(28:16) - Find the shortest path to money(30:16) - Leveraging brand trust(32:57) - Benefits of mentorshipTrucks, tractors, maps, connected devices, oil and gas, potato chips, silicon chips, educational devices and more have been part of a nearly 40-year career for Steve Caudill, the Chief Technology Officer at Rand McNally. Before joining Rand McNally, Steve was a director at CNH industrial, where he was responsible for delivering the farm operations and fleet management components of CNH Industrial’s connected offerings. Steve is the author of A Hero Behind Every Tree: The Non-Technical Reasons Your IT Investments Fail. He received a BA in Computer Science from the University of Maryland and an MBA from the Naveen Jindal School of Management at University of Texas Dallas. If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Innovation and the Digital Enterprise in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.Podcast episode production by Dante32.

What does change management look like in a world of constant, rapid change? Allen Smith, CIO at Baker Tilly, believes keeping up with the pace of change today requires rethinking change management as a discipline, including the rigid processes and communication protocols from traditional waterfall development.Allen joins Patrick and Shelli to talk about the increasing overlap between our personal and professional lives. People bring the expectations they have for consumer software into their view of workplace software and tools. Whether they like it or not, businesses have to contend with any negative aspects of that trend. Why not lean into the change and capitalize on the advantages?(01:19) - What makes Baker Tilly different?(02:45) - Ability to change(04:59) - Agile development(07:44) - Part of a progression(11:41) - Adoption rate(16:09) - Building a long-term strategy(22:17) - Digital nomads(23:44) - Candor in mentorshipAllen Smith is the Chief Information Officer of Baker Tilly US, the 9th largest accounting firm with $1b in revenue. Allen has served as the firm’s CIO for nearly 20 years and leads all technology strategy and execution across the firm. Under his technology leadership, Baker Tilly has grown its revenue more than 1000 percent. During this growth, Allen has established a strong track record of results by creating and fostering a culture driven by collaboration and camaraderie among his team. This open atmosphere has created team cohesion, produced above average retention and driven results that are well known within the industry. In addition to his executive leadership role with Baker Tilly, Allen serves in senior leadership roles for Baker Tilly International. These roles include Chair of the North America IT Committee and Co- Chair of the Global IT Committee. Allen also served for four years as a Board Member of the Information Technology Alliance (ITA), including holding the roles of Vice-Chair and Chair of the Board during his tenure. He works directly with the AICPA in a volunteer role and has spoken at numerous domestic and international industry, technology and human resources conferences. Prior to joining Baker Tilly, Allen served in senior leadership and technology roles in a variety of organizations, including technology start-ups, hyper-growth enterprises and outsource service providers. His industry experience includes accounting, legal, financial services and real estate. Allen understands the importance of unwinding. He enjoys golf, traveling and curling. A small claim to fame is that Allen was an on-ice official for the 2006 Olympic Team Trials for Curling. While he is passionate about curling, he is the first to state his officiating skills are better than his curling skills.If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Innovation and the Digital Enterprise in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.Podcast episode production by Dante32.

At TransUnion, creating innovative products, building talent, and delivering excellent customer experiences start with an environment where trust is possible. Swati Shah, U.S. Markets CIO, talks with Patrick and Shelli this week about what cultivating that trust looks like for the organization. She also describes the various programs in place to support continuous learning for cross-functional teams and the importance of helping engineers understand the ‘why’ in addition to the ‘what’ for the solutions they are building. (01:24) - Swati’s role at Transunion(02:57) - Delivering Value to customers(04:40) - B2B2C(06:47) - Understanding your customer's customer(09:14) - It’s about the people(12:38) - Building talent(17:23) - Trust within the organization(20:05) - A philosophy of life-long learning(22:33) - Resiliency & grit(25:33) - Seeking mentorshipSwati Shah is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at TransUnion for US Markets where she is responsible for all technology and delivery within the US Market. Prior to TransUnion, Swati served as Senior Vice President of Emerging Technologies at US Bank. There she was responsible for leading the enterprise API and microservices strategy, bringing business and technology together to produce API-as-a-Product. She also led the DevOps strategy to drive business agility, cloud adoption and modernization. Swati has also held leadership positions at CapitalOne, Thomson Reuters, and Motorola. Swati holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics, a Master's of Science degree in Computer Science, and an MBA from Lake Forest School of Management in Chicago.If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Innovation and the Digital Enterprise in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.Podcast episode production by Dante32.

Experiencing a sudden 90% revenue drop is a formidable challenge for any business. When SpotHero found themselves there at the start of the pandemic, the team took it as an opportunity to pause and rethink their business. In this episode Matt DiBari, Chief Product Officer at SpotHero, talks with Patrick and Shelli about how creative thinking and a strong team foundation allowed SpotHero to weather the sudden downturn. He also discusses how a culture of looking around corners and reacting with wonder fuels innovation both today and for the company’s ‘horizon 3’ plans. (04:19) - COVID’s influence on parking trends(08:06) - Weathering a 90% revenue downturn(13:09) - Transparency to countering uncertainty(16:17) - Looking around corners to maintain an edge(23:17) - Remember to react with wonder(25:21) - Fostering cross-team learning(28:38) - Curiosity and humility as keys to leadershipMatt DiBari (he/him/his) is Chief Product Officer at SpotHero. He joined SpotHero in 2019 as VP of Product, bringing more than 15 years of experience to the role. At SpotHero, Matt is primarily responsible for product vision and strategy, bringing together his love of product innovation and more than a decade of automotive experience. Prior to SpotHero, Matt was the Senior Director of Product Management at Cars.com, after having honed his automotive expertise at CDK Global. Matt has a BA in computer science, math, and philosophy from Augustana College and an MS-MIS and MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago.If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Innovation and the Digital Enterprise in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.Podcast episode production by Dante32.

While eye-popping capital rounds make headlines, sometimes smaller is better when it comes to venture fundraising. Will McGivern-Smith, Chief Strategy Officer of TrueData joined Patrick and Shelli to discuss what questions to answer for your business when considering venture capital. Understanding the type of company you’re building, the problem you’re solving and the total addressable market is a good place to start. Listen in to get Will’s take on what factors to weigh when looking for the best fundraising partner, how to nail your pitch by keeping it simple, and what motivates different types of investors(01:13) - Will’s origins(08:02) - TrueData’s start(11:18) - The pros and cons of venture capital(14:39) - Smaller versus larger funds(19:59) - Series A, B, and C funding(28:08) - Investor focal points(30:14) - K.I.S.S.(33:29) - Finding the right network of people(36:21) - Being vulnerable with mentorsWill McGivern-Smith is the Chief Strategy Officer of TrueData and brings an emphasis on desktop and mobile activation, optimization, and analytics. Prior to joining TrueData, Will worked at Nielsen Catalina Solutions for five years, shaping and growing a diverse set of functions including Data Science, Product, Business Development and Sales. Will holds a BA in Economics from Carleton College, and an MS in Predictive Analytics/Data Science from Northwestern University.If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Innovation and the Digital Enterprise in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.Podcast episode production by Dante32.

Timothy Alvis is the Chief Product Officer at SPINS and has over 20 years of experience marrying product, consumer needs, and business outcomes. He joined the podcast today to offer his tips for product teams and why they should focus on understanding problems rather than coming up with solutions. Having started his career as the founder of multiple gaming companies, Tim also discusses the creativity involved with popular video games like Minecraft and Roblox. Tune in for his insights.(01:18) - Providing shaped retail insights(03:51) - The eras of the gaming industry(10:07) - Practicing team dynamics(16:47) - Bad/lucky vs. good/unlucky(20:42) - How to get truthful feedback(25:15) - Finding the “why” in product leadership(30:35) - Being problem-focused(37:00) - Driving toward your destination(38:23) - Shifting mentorsTimothy Alvis is the EVP of Product Innovation at SPINS, a leading provider of retail, consumer insights, and analytics for the natural, organic and specialty products industry. As EVP of Product Innovation. He is responsible for the technology and product strategy and leads the data governance, engineering, product management, product design, and development operations team.Before becoming the EVP of Product Innovation. Tim held numerous other positions at SPINS, including president of retail operations and vice-president of product. Prior to SPINS, Timothy held positions at Microsoft, Right Point, and Amazon. He launched his first software startup at the age of 20 and has co-founded another five companies.If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Innovation and the Digital Enterprise in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.Podcast episode production by Dante32.

Founders looking to secure funding face a long, arduous process. Founders of color can find it almost impossible and often receive significantly less money than their white counterparts. Desiree Vargas Wrigley believes that the tech ecosystem in Chicago needs to do more to support and nurture the untapped potential of Black and Latinx founders.Desiree is our guest this week on Innovation and the Digital Enterprise. She shares her experience as one of the two Latinx women in the last decade to have raised over a million dollars and her vision for an inclusive Chicago tech community. Listen to the episode for more from Desiree and her company, P33.(01:05) - Making Chicago an innovation hub(03:07) - Finding founders(04:51) - New areas of focus(07:57) - Network access(09:49) - Need for speed(14:59) - First levels of support(17:18) - Founding Give Forward(19:23) - Developing Chicago(26:20) - Tech is changing(28:34) - Inspiration and mentorship(30:34) - Blame & creditDesiree Vargas Wrigley is a Latina serial entrepreneur and Executive Director of TechRise by P33. Her companies include Pearachute, a company that helps parents and children drop into the best family activities in town. Prior to launching Pearachute, Desiree co-founded GiveForward, the world’s leading crowd giving platform for people facing a major life event. Under her leadership, the company helped friends and family contribute nearly $160M to loved ones in need. After graduating from Yale, Desiree worked at the Kauffman Foundation as a specialist in entrepreneurship and at Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors. She taught New Venture Discovery at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. Desiree has been named Inc's 30 Under 30, Crain's 40 Under 40, one of Parents Magazine's Most Inspiring Moms, one of Forbes' Women to Watch, and has appeared on Shark Tank, closing one of the largest deals on the show to date. When not working, she enjoys spending time with her 2 young sons, stepdaughter, and crime-fighting husband.If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Innovation and the Digital Enterprise in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.Podcast episode production by Dante32.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are powerful tools that companies can leverage to create better customer experiences. However, they traditionally require millions of dollars' worth of investment. Alex Muller believes that every product team, regardless of size, should benefit from the same machine learning capabilities used at the most successful companies in the world.Alex, the founder of SAVVI AI, is our guest this week on Innovation and the Digital Enterprise. Listen to the episode to learn more about democratizing machine learning.(01:47) - SAVVI AI(03:41) - Machine learning barriers(09:02) - AI and ML for everyone(11:04) - Target clients(14:02) - Little AI decision maker(17:40) - Who knows the customer best?(19:21) - Family of entrepreneurs(22:49) - Fintech impact(26:44) - Military mentors(31:29) - Chicago talentAlex Muller is a founder of SAVVI AI, an AI company focused on helping every product team leverage AI/ML to meet their software goals without the need of data scientists, pre-existing data or expensive tools and consultants. Prior to founding SAVVI AI, Muller served as Senior Vice President, AI Enabled Products & EIR Synchrony Ventures at Synchrony Financial. In this role, he led innovation and product development in several domains, including mobile and artificial intelligence. Previously he was the CEO and co-founder of GPShopper, which had been acquired by Synchrony Financial in 2017. Forbes named Muller one of ten CEOs whose companies are disrupting the retail industry through technology. He is revered as an industry expert on the topics of mobile payments and security. Inc. named Alex a person “at the top of his game” and a leader in his industry, and CIO Magazine cited him as a go-to expert in the retail and ecommerce space. Alex has served as an Adjunct Professor at NYU, lecturing on mobile application strategy and execution. Alex graduated from Tufts University with a BS in Engineering before earning his MS Engineering and his MBA (Tepper School), from Carnegie Mellon University.If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Innovation and the Digital Enterprise in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.Podcast episode production by Dante32.

Banking has been around for hundreds of years. How do you teach an old dog new tricks? Chintan Mehta, CIO and Head of Digital Technology and Innovation at Wells Fargo, joined Patrick and Shelli to discuss the technological revolution happening right now in banking. He talks about what the next five years look like for innovations such as quantum computing and cultural shifts such as the gig worker economy. Listen in and get inspired.(02:23) - Deep tech work in banking(03:59) - Risks & challenges(08:50) - Five years out(11:02) - Quantum computing(12:34) - Fundamental shifts in powering our lives(15:51) - Gig worker expectations(20:53) - Investing in culture and vision(25:46) - Remote on-boarding(28:06) - Mentorship(30:06) - Commitment to improvement(34:07) - Impostor syndromeChintan Mehta is the Chief Information Officer and head of Digital Technology and Innovation for Wells Fargo. He is also a member of the Wells Fargo Technology executive leadership team. Chintan has joint reporting relationships to the Head of Wells Fargo Technology as well as the CEO for Corporate Strategy, Digital Platform & Innovation business.Chintan has a master’s degree in computer science from University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. He is based in San Francisco, California with his wife and two children.If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Innovation and the Digital Enterprise in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find the show.Podcast episode production by Dante32.