kristaberutti, Author at Business RadioX ® Page

Special Edition: Dunwoody Chamber of Commerce

June 9, 2014 by kristaberutti

Beth Summers / Dunwoody Chamber of Commerce

Zohar Shiff / Don’t Sweat IT Solutions

Zohar Shiff, entrepreneur and president of Don’t Sweat IT Solutions, had no intentions of coming to Atlanta – or the United States for that matter – while living in his home country of Israel.

Shiff grew up in a small farming community. While most of his peers worked on the farm, Shiff liked to build stuff and take it apart. So he apprenticed under the local electrician.

After his eventual move to the States, Shiff worked as a support technician for a nationwide medical software company and slowly became passionate about IT support.

It was a time of change in the computer industry. The internet had only just begun to take hold and DSL was the latest thing. The medical offices were suddenly interested in having personal computers, internet, and email. Whenever Shiff came in on support calls, they turned to him with questions that ranged far beyond the official limits of software support.

Shiff realized that most technicians focus on supporting the computers. What drove Shiff, however, was a desire to support the actual people using the computers. In 2001, Shiff co-founded an IT support company with just this aim in mind.

In 2010 Shiff founded a second company to take IT support to the next level for his clients. The name Don’t Sweat IT Solutions (formerly known as Shiff Atlanta IT Services) says it all:

“We’re here to be a solution. We want to take IT off our clients’ worry list: they don’t have to think about how they’re going to manage their IT. Not technically, not financially. We look at each client as an individual and offer him the services that he needs to keep his business running. Then we keep all that IT running smoothly – for a predictable, flat monthly rate. No surprise bills, no being left in the lurch. We’re not here to create headaches – we’re here to solve them.”

Thomas McEachern / The Capital Grille Dunwoody

Brian Krause with BMA Chicago and Nicole Martin with 101 Best and Brightest

June 6, 2014 by kristaberutti

Guest co-host Mike Lynn with TrainingPros joined us for this edition of Chicago Business Radio.

Brian Krause / BMA Chicago

Recently named by BtoB Magazine as one of the top digital marketers, Brian is a graduate from Benedictine University with a Bachelors of Arts in Management and MBA in Business Administration. Brian consistently grew within the company achieving success in areas as a sales engineer supporting business production that was designed in the US and brought into China and Singapore to his current role Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the Molex Global Sales and Marketing division.

Today Brian manages the Molex Brand, all online properties including Molex.com, Social Media, and connector.com and develops and drives Molex’s product “go to market strategy” which includes Global Advertising, Public Relations, Integrated Campaigns, electronic promotions, SEO/SEM, e-newsletters, Marketing Automation Platform, Promotion Plans, all online and print communications, release packages, web publishing, the “Team Molex” audio conference calls, product sample kits and content for newsletters and promotions.

Nicole Martin /101 Best and Brightest

Nicole Martin is a dynamic consultative leader energized by helping organizations meet their strategic objectives through their people.

With a passion towards service and results, she is a Strategic HR leader with hands-on experience across multiple disciplines. Nicole has nearly 20 years in the field of human resources, primarily in leadership roles. With an inspired, approachable personality, Nicole is energized to partner with business leaders to achieve results with sustainable returns. Her career has been focused in Private, Public, and Financial Services, Non-Profit and Manufacturing environments. Nicole is recognized as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) by the Human Resource Certification Institute and carries a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management (MSHRM). She is immersed in the world of human resources management every day.

As Founder of HRBoostTM, LLC. she advises on best practices and HR’s role in strategic alignment. Her clients include a broad range of businesses seeking to build a competitive advantage and understand the employee value proposition. Nicole serves on the Advisory Board for Chicago’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work ForTM and acts as a Representative for Business Development nationally. She dedicates herself to actionable human resources, leadership and business development.

Oliver Yandle with Association of Legal Administrators, JC Grubbs with DevMynd and Mike Lynn with TrainingPros

June 6, 2014 by kristaberutti

Oliver Yandle / Association of Legal Administrators

Since Oliver took ALA’s helm in July 2012, he has led a major transformation initiative to help evolve the Association’s future. ALA’s Strategic Plan consists of four goals for evolving ALA’s future; smart, sustainable growth, highly satisfied customers, innovative product design and delivery and highly engaged talent. Oliver is active in both the Society of Association Executives (ASAE) where he holds the Certified Association Executive designation, and the Association Forum of Chicagoland, where he served as Chair of the Board of Directors.

JC Grubbs / DevMynd

JC has been working in technology for nearly 15 years. Over his career he has worked as a developer and designer and has lead teams large and small. He has served as interim and stand-in CTO for several startups during his work at DevMynd. Today the company helps customers in a variety of industries solve difficult technical and user experience problems and is becoming a thought leader in the business of technology space.

Mike Lynn / TrainingPros

Mike Lynn is the Managing Director of Lynn Learning Collaborations, based in Chicago, and also a Relationship Manager for TrainingPros and a Senior Instructor for thoughtLEADERS, LLC. He worked for nine years in the learning and professional development function at McKinsey and Company global consulting firm, and has been independently doing learning consulting, facilitating and coaching since 2009.

Andy Buzinski with US Foods

June 6, 2014 by kristaberutti

Today’s guest is part of a Special On-The-Road Edition of Learning Insights in Chicago, Illinois.

Andy Buzinski / US Foods

Ann Bentzen-Bilkvist with Accenture

June 6, 2014 by kristaberutti

Today’s guest is part of a Special On-The-Road Edition of Learning Insights in Chicago, Illinois.

Ann Bentzen-Bilkvist / Accenture

Greg Owen-Boger with Turpin Communication

June 6, 2014 by kristaberutti

Today’s guest is part of a Special On-The-Road Edition of Learning Insights in Chicago, Illinois.

Greg Owen-Boger / Turpin Communication

Greg Owen-Boger has been with Turpin Communication, a presentation and facilitation skills training company, since 1995. He started as a cameraman, quickly moving on to instructor and coach, account manager and now VP. He is one of Turpin’s instructors, speaks regularly at conferences, and is an on- camera SME in some of Turpin’s eLearning courses. Prior to joining Turpin, Greg was a Project Leader for a boutique consultancy that uses live theatre to initiate the leadership development process.

Greg is the 2014 President-elect of the Chicagoland Chapter ASTD. He blogs regularly and is one of many industry thought leaders who contributed to the book Master Presenter: Lessons from the World’s Top Experts on Becoming a More Influential Speaker. He is also the co-author of the book The Orderly Conversation: Business Presentations Redefined. Learn more at www.TheOrderlyConversation.com

Matt Elwell with The Comedy Sportz Theatre

June 6, 2014 by kristaberutti

Today’s guest is part of a Special On-The-Road Edition of Learning Insights in Chicago, Illinois.

Matt Elwell / The Comedy Sportz Theatre

Matt is the President and CEO of ComedySportz of Chicago, Inc., and has been teaching improvisation to actors, improvisers, business people, educators, and students for over 10 years.

As an instructional designer, Matt Elwell has created learning experiences used by AT&T, McDonalds, Atellas Pharma U.S., SRR, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, and the U.S. Navy. Matt is a Certified Professional in Learning and Performance through the American Society for Training and Development.

As a performer, Matt has appeared with ComedySportz, Second City Theatricals, GayCo, WNEP, iO and Dave & Co, and has taught as an Associate Faculty Member of the Second City Training Center in Chicago.

Matt is also active in the international leadership of ComedySportz, serving as Treasurer of its governing body and chairing the organization’s rebranding taskforce. Matt also serves as Vice President of Finance for the Chicagoland Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development. Matt lives in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago with his wife, Kathe.

Want to talk more about what improvisation can do for you or organization, please reach out!

Diana Halfer with Lurie Childrens

June 5, 2014 by kristaberutti

Today’s guest is part of a Special On-The-Road Edition of Learning Insights in Chicago, Illinois.

Diana Halfer / Lurie Childrens

Tricia Dupilka with ThinkWise, Inc.

June 5, 2014 by kristaberutti

Today’s guest is part of a Special On-The-Road Edition of Learning Insights in Chicago, Illinois.

Tricia Dupilka / ThinkWise, Inc.

From a Canadian farm to Chicago city lights, Tricia Dupilka believes in inspiration and innovation. Through the lens of her Canadian background, she is able to provide insight into her work through a distinct point of view. She believes innovation is only one step away from what you already know and that the most innovative teams have a diverse perspective.

As managing partner of ThinkWise Consulting, Tricia is the integrator and synthesizer of the team. She excels at looking at the big picture and finding the hidden patterns and connections that are easy to overlook. Tricia aspires to fill organizations with people who are inspired to do what is meaningful to them. “I want to get to the heart of what matters for people,” she says. “I want to help organizations see a way toward finding and creating their roles within their organization. You may know what you love, but how do you do more of that at work?”

Tricia also uses her innate pragmatism to bridge the gap between reality and possibility. She believes it’s extremely important to help people think through “the why” behind what they do. “Everyone has the answers within them, they just might not necessarily have the techniques to get there,” she says. Her ultimate goal is to create a place for people to think bigger and challenge themselves. It’s rewarding for her to be able to provide a space for people to see things in a broader, different way. Then, when they reach a new insight, she loves to see the change in people that these moments can bring. The challenge of creating a spark and giving people tools to make connections in their lives is what drives her.

For Tricia, ThinkWise Consulting desires to bring inspiration into the workplace. There is no standard way; every person has a unique path to success and to growth. “We’re in it with them as a partner,” she says. “We’re not happy until they’re getting what they want out of it. And if we can leave behind a point of view that sticks with them and continues to work, then we’ve achieved our ultimate goal.”

Prior to ThinkWise Consulting, Tricia has spent more than 20 years delivering global projects in internal, external and technology aspects of HR. Most recently, Tricia was the Director of Talent Solutions at BPI Group, a human resources consulting firm. Before that, she was the Vice President of Consulting & Services for HRIZONS, a talent management and human capital consulting firm. Tricia holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Alberta and a master’s of business administration from the University of Calgary, where she wrote her thesis on knowledge transfer between organizations.