Karen, Author at Business RadioX ® Page

E66 Driving Value as a Digital Project Manager

November 10, 2020 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

E66 Driving Value as a Digital Project Manager

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E66 Driving Value as a Digital Project Manager

What is a Digital Project Manager? How is this different than a traditional Project Manager? In this episode we hear from Ben Aston who is the founder of The Digital Project Manager Community.

Ben is a community builder, podcast host, and leader in the project management industry. He shared with us his journey from Developer and Accidental PM to Digital Producer and Digital Project Manager. Ben provides insights into the benefits of being a member in the Digital Project Manager community and working closely with his peers. He offers perspective on alternatives to the PMBOK, Agile & Waterfall project management, how DPMs have been able to adjust to our COVID world and so much more.

Founded in 2011 The Digital Project Manager has become one of the largest and most credible platforms for digital project management information and thought leadership.

The Digital Project Manager (DPM) has how-to guides, articles on project management and software, best practices, hacks for productivity, podcasts, and other resources to get you started leading projects in a digital world.

The Digital Project Manager – www.thedigitalprojectmanager.com
The DPM Podcast – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-digital-project-manager-podcast/id1262608127

Thanks to our sponsor THE PMO SQUAD. Visit www.thepmosquad.com to learn to Empower People to Deliver Results and assist your PMO as you evolve in the new post-COVID business world.

Check out all prior episodes and upcoming guests by visiting www.projectmanagementofficehours.com.

Founded in 2011 by Ben Aston, The Digital Project Manager has become one of the largest and most credible platforms for digital project management information and thought leadership.

They also offer membership, which includes access to a community of project managers, as well as ongoing workshops and mentorship. Their DPM School is a flexible, part time, digital project management course offering practical guidance on managing the entire digital project lifecycle.

Armed with a x386 PC and a 33k dial-up modem, Ben Aston launched his first terrible website, aged 14 and was hooked.

Ben is a digital project manager and online entrepreneur – the founder of Black + White Zebra, an indie media company on a mission to help people and organizations succeed.

He’s the founder the largest and fastest growing communities for digital project managers – The Digital Project Manager.com Ben’s a PRINCE2 Practitioner, Certified Scrum master with more than 15 years of project delivery and PMO leadership experience at top agencies including Dare, Wunderman, DDB, and clients including Honda, Unilever, & Sony.

Connect with Ben on LinkedIn and follow DPM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

ABOUT PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE HOURS SERIES

Project Management Office Hours is intended to provide Project Management professionals a place to drop in and discuss Success Stories, Best Practices, and Lessons Learned. Project Management Consultant Joy Gumz has shared with us, “Operations keep the lights on, strategy provides the light at the end of the tunnel, but project management is the train engine that moves the organization forward.”

Each of us has a unique story to tell, but collectively we share a message that organizations who embrace Project Management Best Practices perform better than those which don’t. Organizations which align Projects to Strategy perform better. Organizations with Engage Executive Sponsors deliver better results. Organizations which measure Project Management performance outperform those which don’t.

During our Project Management Office Hours, we hear directly from Industry leaders how to make an impact in our profession. How we, collectively, will Advance Project Management Best Practices, One Listener at a time!

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Joe Pusz started THE PMO SQUAD to bring real world PMO Leadership experience to the consulting space and to advocate for Project Management through his blog PMOJOE.com. The old saying is “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Following this mindset Joe left Corporate America in 2013 to start THE PMO SQUAD and work with fellow Natural Born Project Managers to advance Project Management Best Practices.

ABOUT OUR SPONSOR

THE PMO SQUAD focuses exclusively on PMO and Project Management consulting. Corporate America is full of Accidental Project Managers running projects who haven’t been trained to be PMs. To help solve this problem THE PMO SQUAD is on the Leading Edge with PMO As a Service. PMO As a Service allows our clients to focus on their respective core competencies while THE PMO SQUAD delivers Project Management expertise. Contact Joe at 678-591-7868. Follow The PMO Squad on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Everybody Has a Brain E27

November 9, 2020 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

Everybody Has a Brain E27

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Everybody Has a Brain E27

The Brain Injury Alliance of Arizona (BIAAZ) is a social benefit organization dedicated to creating a better future through brain injury prevention, advocacy, and education. They support, connect, and empower survivors and caregivers on their journeys to recovery. Dina Shacknai, next year’s chairwoman also joined the show to discuss what they are working to build for BIAAZ.

If you want to hear from two dynamic ladies who are passionate about the non-profit that they work with and the services that it provides, you will not want to miss this episode as we shift gears a bit for this episode to highlight a non-profit, but still discussed how businesses can and maybe should get involved with BIAAZ.org

Brain Injury Alliance of AZ is a statewide organization that supports individuals with brain injuries and the professional that serve them, through prevention, education and awareness.

Go Big! Enterprise has a focus on nonprofit growth, employee engagement, executive coaching, and will soon be launching Go Big Sustain, an online curriculum using the power of storytelling to reduce staff turnover and strengthen teams.

Dena Baldwin, EMSL, Dena received her marketing degree from Arizona State University (ASU) in 1995. During that same year, she began working for the American Heart Association–a premier, national non-profit and philanthropic organization. This began her journey as a nonprofit expert.

In 2006, she began as a business consultant under the name, Baldwin Consulting. Two years later, she, formed Go Big!, a Boutique nonprofit consulting firm. In 2016, Dena received from ASU, her Executive Masters in Sustainability Leadership and pivoted Go Big! to work with companies as a development consultant on issues of high turnover and communication.

Connect with Dena on LinkedIn and follow Brain Injury of Arizona on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter and Go Big! on Facebook and Twitter.

Dina Shacknai

About Your Hosts

Austin Peterson is a Comprehensive Financial Planner and owner of Backbone Financial in Scottsdale, AZ. Austin is a registered rep and investment advisor representative with Lincoln Financial Advisors. Prior to joining Lincoln Financial Advisors, Austin worked in a variety of roles in the financial services industry.

He began his career in financial services in the year 2000 as a personal financial advisor with Independent Capital Management in Santa Ana, CA. Austin then joined Pacific Life Insurance Company as an internal wholesaler for their variable annuity and mutual fund products. After Pacific Life, Austin formed his own financial planning company in Southern California that he built and ran for 6 years and eventually sold when he moved his family to Salt Lake City to pursue his MBA.

After he completed his MBA, Austin joined Crump Life Insurance where he filled a couple of different sales roles and eventually a management role throughout the five years he was with Crump. Most recently before joining Lincoln Financial Advisors in February 2015, Austin spent 2 years as a life insurance field wholesaler with Symetra Life Insurance Company. Austin is a Certified Financial Planner Professional and Chartered Life Underwriter.

Austin and his wife of 21 years, Robin, have two children, AJ (19) and Ella (16) and they reside in Gilbert, Arizona. He is a graduate of California State University, Fullerton with a Bachelor of Arts in French and of Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management with a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in sales and entrepreneurship.

Connect with Austin on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Landon Mance is a Financial Planner and founder of YourFuture Planning Partners out of Las Vegas, Nevada. His firm came to life in 2020 after operating as Mance Wealth Management since 2015 when Landon broke off from a major bank and started his own “shop.”

Landon comes from a family of successful entrepreneurs and has a passion and excitement for serving the business community. This passion is what brought about the growth of YourFuture Planning Partners to help business owners and their families. At YourFuture, we believe small business owners’ personal and business goals are intertwined, so we work with our clients to design a financial plan to support all aspects of their lives.

In 2019, Landon obtained the Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) designation through the Exit Planning Institute. With this certification, YourFuture Planning Partners assists business owners through an ownership transition while focusing on a positive outcome for their employees and meeting the business owner’s goals. Landon is also a member of the Business Intelligence Institute (BII) which is a collaborative group that shares tools, resources and personnel, and offers advanced level training and technical support to specifically serve business owners.

Landon enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife, stepson, and new baby twins. He grew up in sunny San Diego and loves visiting his family, playing a round of golf with friends, and many other outdoor activities. Landon tries make a difference in the lives of children in Las Vegas as a part of the leadership team for a local non-profit. He regularly visits the children that we work with to remind himself of why it’s so important to, “be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

Landon received his B.S. from California State University Long Beach in business marketing and gets the rest of his education through the school of hard knocks via his business owner clients.

Connect with Landon on LinkedIn.

About The Tycoons of Small Biz Sponsor

Whether you’re an established local company, or a brand new start-up, you can count on GBS to be a part of your family.

We’re not just any benefits consulting firm, we’re GBS. We have nearly 30 years of experience in group benefits, a strong sense of purpose and it shows.

Austin Peterson and Landon Mance are registered representatives of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. Securities and investment advisory services offered through Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp., a broker/dealer (member SIPC) and registered investment advisor. Insurance offered through Lincoln affiliates and other fine companies. Backbone Financial and Your Future Planning Partners are marketing names for registered representatives of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. CRN 3305164-102720

Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. and its representatives do not provide legal or tax advice. You may want to consult a legal or tax advisor regarding any legal or tax information as it relates to your personal circumstances.

The content presented is for informational and educational purposes. The information covered and posted are views and opinions of the guests and not necessarily those of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp.

Business RadioX® is a separate entity not affiliated with Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp.

Scott Jones and Bari Levy with Brown and Brown Insurance of Arizona

November 6, 2020 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

Scott Jones and Bari Levy with Brown and Brown Insurance of Arizona

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Scott Jones and Bari Levy with Brown and Brown Insurance of Arizona

Scott Jones joined the Brown & Brown Phoenix team in 2003 as a Property & Casualty Producer and was quickly recognized as an up and comer in the organization. In 2006, Scott was asked to relocate to New Mexico and lead day-to-day operations in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos.

These offices flourished under Scott’s leadership. In 2008 and again in 2010 the New Mexico office won Western Regional Office of the Year for Brown & Brown Insurance of Arizona and was ranked Top 10 in the State for Best Places to Work.

Effective July 2016 Scott returned to be the President of our Phoenix office. Since that time, the Phoenix office has seen year over year growth. In addition to being head of office Scott’s believes in being involved in the community.

He is currently focused on raising funds for St. Mary’s Food Bank, and Amanda Hope. Scott is currently the President of the IICF and sits on the board of the Arizona Chapter of YPO.

Bari Levy is an insurance professional who has been in the industry for almost 9 years. Her passion is to connect with new people and build new relationships, which turn into partnerships on a personal and business level.

Within the agency, her job is to partner with Brown and Brown’s producers, who specialize in certain industries, to connect them with prospects to ensure they are protected in regards to all their insurance needs and are able to sleep better at night.

Connect with Bari on LinkedIn and Facebook.

E65 PMI and VPMMA supporting Veterans and Military Spouses

November 5, 2020 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

E65 PMI and VPMMA supporting Veterans and Military Spouses

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E65 PMI and VPMMA supporting Veterans and Military Spouses

As we approach Veterans Day we dedicated our show to a discussion about supporting Veterans and Military Spouses with services and programs assisting with transitioning to civilian Project Management careers. Two leading organizations in the industry which are supporting Veterans are PMI and VPMMA and we learn more about what they have to offer Veterans.

PMO Joe was joined by Brantlee Underhill, Kerry Brooks and Al Calvi all from PMI, the Project Management Institute. Brantlee is the Managing Director North America, Kerry is a Military Spouse and PMI Product Manager and Al is Veteran and Military Program Champion.

Al gives us an inside look as a Veteran of the challenges he and his family faced when transitioning to the civilian workforce. He also shared how earning his PMP helped ease the strain of the transition. He now works closely with PMI Chapters to help them build successful Veterans Mentoring Programs.

Kerry shares the impact a military family can have on your career such as frequent relocations and the stresses of the unknown. Kerry was recently featured along with VPMMA Co-Founder Eric “Doc” Wright on the Montel Williams Lifetime Network show, Military Makeover. You can see that episode here – https://militarymakeover.tv/pmi-empowering-people-to-make-ideas-a-reality/

Brantlee shares PMI’s vision and plan to support Veterans in the Project Economy such as their partnership with Pearson VUE to provide exams at military bases around the world. She also shares one of PMI’s Core Values is Volunteerism with Al being an example of how volunteering can make an impact personally and within the community.

To learn about all the services PMI offers for the Military and Veterans visit www.pmi.org/military. To learn more about VPMMA, Veteran Project Manager Mentor Alliance, visit www.thevpmma.org.

Thanks to our sponsor THE PMO SQUAD. Visit www.thepmosquad.com to learn to Empower People to Deliver Results and assist your PMO as you evolve in the new post-COVID business world.

Check out all prior episodes and upcoming guests by visiting www.projectmanagementofficehours.com.

Project Management Institute (PMI) is the world’s leading association for those who consider project, program or portfolio management their profession.

Through global advocacy, collaboration, education and research, PMI works to prepare more than three million professionals around the world for the Project Economy: the coming economy in which work, and individuals, are organized around projects.

Celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2019, they work in nearly every country around the world to advance careers, improve organizational success and further mature the project management profession through globally-recognized standards, certifications, communities, resources, tools, academic research, publications, professional development courses and networking opportunities.

As part of the PMI family, ProjectManagement.com creates online global communities that deliver more resources, better tools, larger networks and broader perspectives.

Brantlee Underhill leads Project Management Institute’s (PMI) North America region business as well as global chapter and volunteer programs. A Certified Association Executive (CAE) and nonprofit executive, Brantlee aligns PMI’s strategy and operational plans to serve PMI’s North American market and volunteer-lead communities to empower people to make their ideas a reality.

In her 20+ years with PMI, Brantlee has led community, organizational and volunteer leadership transformation to achieve greater engagement and value outcomes for PMI members around the globe. She has led the establishment of PMI offices in Dubai, Singapore and Brussels; coaches teams in change and stakeholder engagement; and co-led the start-up team for implementing PMI’s culture and change management capability.

Connect with Brantlee on LinkedIn.

Kerry Brooks is a product manager with PMI’s Global Membership Team. Her background is in product development, product management, and strategic marketing. Kerry develops career-focused digital tools and programs to solve customer pain-points throughout their career journeys in project management. In addition, Kerry is a subject matter expert and co-lead of PMI’s U.S. military initiative, Operation: Qualify for Hire. She’s a military spouse who, when not performing her product management duties, volunteers as a Family Readiness Leader (FRG leader) for her husband’s unit, is the webmaster for the local Military Officers of Association of America (MOAA) chapter, and enjoys advocating for the military community.

Kerry has her Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Marist College and her Master’s in Business Administration from Wilmington University. She also holds her Level VI certifications in Pragmatic Marketing and her Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) and Certified Scrum Master (CSM) certifications.

Mr. Al Calvi is currently serving the PMI (Project Management Institute) volunteer role as the Region 14 Mentor supporting 24 PMI Chapters in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Jamaica and Southern Caribbean. He is also the PMI North American Military Liaison Program Champion working with various PMI Chapters promoting military to civilian project management career transition efforts.

Prior to his 2016 retirement, Mr. Al Calvi was the site lead engineer and project manager for the CACI Inc INSCOM (Intelligence and Security Command) Genesis contract. He has over forty years of project management, engineering, military and industrial experience in support of US Army active duty, reserves, National Guard, civil affairs, military intelligence, inspector general, and mission critical IT equipment.

Prior to joining CACI in early 2005, Mr. Calvi was serving in an active duty assignment in Ft. McPherson, GA as a US Army Reserves Colonel with Army Central Command C9 Civil Military Operations. Mr. Calvi US Army assignments included; 352nd Civil Affairs Command Chief of staff Task Force Commander during Operation Iraqi Freedom combat operations, 401st Civil Affairs Battalion Commander, 98th Division Assistant Inspector General, certified military instructor and 82nd Airborne Division Combat Engineer & Maintenance Officer.

Concurrent with his US Army Reserves career and prior to joining CACI Inc., Mr. Calvi held key project management and senior mechanical engineering positions at Eastman Kodak Company during his twenty four year tenure with the Fortune 500 Company. Mr. Calvi was the senior facilities management group executive with the Heidelberg and Kodak joint venture Heidelberg Digital LLC supporting the new $250 million digital color print equipment manufacturing market.

Mr. Calvi is a graduate of the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology with a master’s degree in Manufacturing Management and Leadership, and a graduate of Colorado Technical University with a master’s degree in Information Systems Security. Mr. Calvi is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), and a registered professional engineer (PE) in the state of Georgia.

Connect with Al on LinkedIn and follow PMI Institute on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

ABOUT PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE HOURS SERIES

ABOUT YOUR HOST

ABOUT OUR SPONSOR

Marketing Tech Trends: Targeting Customers with AI, Automation and Analytics E7

November 3, 2020 by Karen

AZ TechCast

Marketing Tech Trends: Targeting Customers with AI, Automation and Analytics E7

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Marketing Tech Trends: Targeting Customers with AI, Automation and Analytics E7

As we spend more time on our mobile phones, tablets and laptops, a transformation of marketing continues at a break-neck pace right before our very eyes. As innovative technologies are achieving mainstream adoption, it’s clear that the martech space has become critical to customer engagement success. Modern-day marketing departments not only need to keep up with industry trends, but also must combine the creative side of the discipline with the technical side of data, digital engineering and analytics.

Moderated by Phoenix Business Radio Owner & President Karen Nowicki, a distinguished group of Arizona marketing experts from Botco.ai, KEO Marketing and Castelazo Content shared their expertise to help marketers make informed decisions against the backdrop of the exciting and disruptive trends in marketing technology and discussed how chief marketing officers and chief information officers must work in unison to be effective in the digital age.

Marketing and technology have more than intersected…they have converged. Botco.ai Co-Founder and CEO Rebecca Clyde, KEO Marketing Director of Analytics Elliot Manson, and Castelazo Content CEO & Chief Content Strategist Molly Castelazo provided insight on how the explosion of digital technology, AI and automation have changed traditional marketing, what the merging of technology and marketing means for the future of the industry, as well as how traditional marketers need to evolve to stay relevant and employable in the digital age.

Botco.ai is transforming the conversational marketing scene with easy to build chatbot technology for websites, Facebook Messenger, Wechat and more. An innovative conversational marketing platform, Botco.ai enables meaningful and intelligent conversations between businesses and their customers.

Innovative authoring capabilities allow users to incorporate conversation templates while answering product questions quickly, efficiently and correctly to move the buyer along the user journey. As your customers continue to ask questions, your Botco.ai conversational AI learns and makes its own improvements. Botco.ai works hard so your team members can focus on the important tasks at hand.

Rebecca Clyde is the CEO & co-founder of Botco.ai, an intelligent chat solution for the healthcare industry. With more than 20 years as a marketing executive in the technology industry, she is passionate about advancing women in tech.

Prior to Botco.ai, Rebecca founded a marketing automation agency, Ideas Collide, now in its 15th year serving global enterprise clients. She was previously a demand gen strategist at Intel and holds an MBA from Arizona State University.

A native Spanish speaker, Rebecca was born in Costa Rica and spent her formative years in Chile, Argentina and Paraguay.

Follow Botco.ai on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Castelazo Content is a B2B demand generation and sales acceleration firm delivering the results that drive revenue: This innovative martech company helps marketers more effectively generate demand and turn it into leads that convert, and helps sales more efficiently convert leads to customers and customers to evangelists.
Castelazo Content achieves that through purpose-built strategies that leverage content to walk your buyers through their journey – so that when it’s time to make a decision, it’s more likely that the buyer’s decision will be you. That’s how this marketing leader’s content drives revenue.

Molly Castelazo is CEO & Chief Content Strategist at Castelazo Content, a B2B demand generation and sales acceleration agency. Since 2008, Molly and her team have helped drive hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for clients ($69 million in the last year alone) through purpose-built strategies that leverage content to walk buyers through their journey – from pre-awareness, to decision, to evangelization.

For her team, Molly is a fearless leader, coach, guide, and editor-in-chief. For clients, she works her “magic” as both a brilliant brainstormer and effective executor. For the technology and marketing community, Molly serves in various leadership roles, including as Past President of the Business Marketing Association and Workforce Development Committee co-chair for the Arizona Technology Council.

Follow Castelazo Content on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

KEO Marketing, a leading B2B marketing agency in Phoenix, is committed to developing marketing strategies and plans that help clients succeed. Some of the world’s largest brands depend on KEO Marketing for marketing programs that deliver tangible and substantial results. Led by business growth and B2B marketing expert, Sheila Kloefkorn, KEO Marketing Inc. specializes in innovative marketing strategies that deliver results.

Some of these solutions include lead generation and nurturing, integrated marketing, marketing automation, inbound marketing, content marketing, search engine optimization, search marketing, email marketing, creative, video marketing, website design and development, app development, online and traditional advertising, local and mobile marketing and much more.

Elliot Manson is the Director of Analytics & Advertising for KEO Marketing, a leader in B2B lead generation. His focus is on paid media channels, using data to help companies make strategic decisions to drive their business forward.

Elliot’s experience spans from running paid media across all the major platforms with a strategic omni-channel approach. Industries include tech, data, fitness, human resources, SaaS, construction, outsourcing and many more.

Outside of work, Elliot spends his time developing a podcast to uncover regret and decision making, writing about anything and everything, developing deep conversation, exploring empathy and how it impacts the world, travel, snowboarding, surfing, CrossFit, yoga and boxing.

Follow KEO Marketing on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About the Show

AZ TechCast is dedicated to covering innovation and technology in Arizona and beyond.

Through the art of connected conversation, AZ TechCast’s guests will share their expertise, success stories, news and analysis about the region’s leading startups, companies and emerging technologies, as well as the latest industry trends and critical issues propelling the state’s growing technology ecosystem.

About Your Hosts

Steve Zylstra serves as president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council, a role he assumed in 2007. He is responsible for strategy, operations, finance and policy development. Zylstra is a vocal spokesman for the value technology can provide in raising social and economic standards in Arizona.

Zylstra serves on numerous councils, committees and boards, was named “Leader of the Year, Technology,” by the Arizona Capitol Times, and “Most Admired Leader” by the Phoenix Business Journal. In addition, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of science in technology from the University of Advancing Technology in Tempe, Ariz.

Zylstra earned a bachelor’s degree in automotive engineering technology from Western Michigan University.

Karen Nowicki is a successful author, speaker and the creator of Deep Impact Leadership™ and SoulMarks Coaching™. She is a two-time recipient of the prestigious national Choice Award® for her book and personal development retreat. Karen was crowned the first-ever “Mompreneur of the Year” Award in 2010 for the southwestern states. She was recognized for her leadership, business acumen, and work-life balance.

Karen has been an expert guest on regional TV and radio shows, including Fox Phoenix Morning Show, Sonoran Living, Good Morning Arizona, The Chat Room, and Mid-Day Arizona. She has been a regular contributor to many print and online magazines – publishing articles and blogs for business and education.

In addition to working with private coaching clients, Karen is also the Owner & President of Phoenix Business RadioX. The Business RadioX Network amplifies the voice of business – serving the Fortune 500,000, not just the Fortune 500. Phoenix Business RadioX helps local businesses and professional associations get the word out about the important work they’re doing to serve their market, profession, and community.

Of all the experiences Karen has had the privilege of participating in over her vast career, she shares that Phoenix Business RadioX is a pinnacle adventure!

Connect with Karen on LinkedIn and follow Phoenix Business RadioX on Facebook and Instagram.

About Our Sponsor

The Arizona Technology Council, Arizona’s only statewide organization serving the technology sector, fosters a climate of innovation to enhance technology in Arizona.

A trusted resource in strengthening Arizona’s technology industry, the Council proactively eliminates impediments that companies face, accelerates the entrepreneurial mindset in the state’s expanding innovation ecosystem, and works to create a destination for companies to be, thrive and stay.

Follow Arizona Technology Council on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Fred Morgan with Fired Pie Ellie Lowney with Creating Buzz PR Mark Jamnik with Enjoy Life Daily and Sean Sarram with Avontage

November 3, 2020 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

Fred Morgan with Fired Pie Ellie Lowney with Creating Buzz PR Mark Jamnik with Enjoy Life Daily and Sean Sarram with Avontage

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Fred Morgan with Fired Pie Ellie Lowney with Creating Buzz PR Mark Jamnik with Enjoy Life Daily and Sean Sarram with Avontage

Fired Pie is quick, casual and customizable to your pizza, salad and mac & cheese desires. The locally owned restaurant has 20 locations across Arizona and allows you to take on the role of chef by picking and choosing your own type of dough, sauce and topping.

Fred Morgan spent 14 years with Ponderosa Steakhouse and another 16 with California Pizza Kitchen, and came to Phoenix AZ, as COO of Oregano Pizza. Today, as the co-founder of 21-unit Fired Pie, he is looking to grow the company to the next level.

He started in the industry as an assistant manager at a Ponderosa Steakhouse and moved up quickly, becoming a general manager; at CPK he started as a general manager, then a regional director, and ended as a regional vice president. Later, at Oregano’s Pizza Bistro, he served as vice president and COO.

In 2013, Morgan and his business partner, Doug Doyle, invested their own money and started the fast-casual Fired Pie pizza concept. As a business owner and restaurant veteran, Morgan says he loves this industry and cannot see ever doing anything else.

Connect with Fred on LinkedIn and Facebook and follow Fired Pie on Twitter.

Creating Buzz PR is a full service traditional and digital public relations, branding, and marketing firm. Some of their clients have been The SF Fairmont Hotel, Personality Hotels, World Wildlife Fund, Hollywood Film Fest, and many large corporations and start ups.

Ellie Lowney has been in PR, Marketing, & Events for ten+ years and has worked with large corporations as well as start-ups. She is an uber-creative writer and was in screenwriting and sales before falling into PR.

She calls her type of PR – REAL PR as it combines traditional and digital and is based on “the story”. She recently started teaching influencers, entrepreneurs, and others that feel they can’t afford PR – how to be their own publicist – in her online classes – Catapult Your Brand With Real PR.

Connect with Ellie on LinkedIn and follow Creating Buzz PR on Facebook.

At Enjoy Life Daily, we want you to have clarity on the one domino that affects a dozen other things, rather than working on each of those dozen tasks. The Time Creation Coaching method will help you change your patterns and achieve tangible results.

Specializing in change management strategies to help you go beyond your perceived limitations, Mark provides a collaborative partnership and combines thoughtful strategy, systematic implementation, and organizational accountability to identify your purpose and assist you on your entrepreneurial journey. You eliminate roadblocks, create boundless growth, and build a plan for you to thrive. Master your schedule through an optimization of your time and bring order to your organizational challenges with action steps.

Take a holistic approach to not only identify, but also effectively help you navigate and resolve personal and professional life challenges through a time creation program tailored to you. This goal-digging approach works to manifest purpose and prioritize the items that belong on your to-do list.

Through collaboration, develop the personalized tools to empower and propel you to discover what it’s like to no longer feel overwhelmed and stressed due to lack of time.

Mark Jamnik lives and breathes productivity and coaching. After a decade in Advertising sales, he was recruited by Tony Robbins’ organization to be 1 of only 100 active global coaches.

He coached more than 300 CEOs, entrepreneurs, and sales professionals, maximizing their effectiveness in achieving their goals. Over the past decade, he has focused on his own entrepreneurial journey, creating an organization system for himself to create time.

Now he consults coaches, authors, speakers, and entrepreneurs with organization strategies, maximizing their productivity, stress-free.

Connect with Mark on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Avontage is a place to grow your business without spending money. We’re building the world’s ONLY community of experts whom you can trade your skills and services with.

Avontage is a Collaborative Business Network for business owners, skilled freelancers, founders, and coaches empowering you to scale your business.

Sean Sarram, the CEO and Founder of Avontage, is a seasoned executive with an entrepreneurial mindset. With a software engineering degree in Computer Science form Arizona State University, Sean enjoys building technology to solve hard problems that affects every day life.

His mission is to build a trusted community marketplace for local business owners, marketers, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and creatives to collaborate, gain high quality clients, and help them grow your businesses without spending money.

Sean believes in Collaborative Capitalism, where small businesses collaborate and trading-exchange their skills and services to elevate one another.

Follow Avontage on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Erika Acorn with the Tempe Chamber Kelly Lorenzen with KLM Consulting and Dr. T. Greg Tucker with VIC Technology Venture Development E16

November 3, 2020 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

Erika Acorn with the Tempe Chamber Kelly Lorenzen with KLM Consulting and Dr. T. Greg Tucker with VIC Technology Venture Development E16

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Erika Acorn with the Tempe Chamber Kelly Lorenzen with KLM Consulting and Dr. T. Greg Tucker with VIC Technology Venture Development E16

Finding your community is so important when you are building a business! Speaking of which, in this episode of MAC6 Community Connection Radio Show and Podcast, Jennifer Burwell met up with a few impressive leaders in Tempe who talked about that very thing.

Kelly Lorenzen, CEO of KLM Consulting, Marketing & Management, Dr. T. Greg Tucker, Chemist & Technical Specialist at VIC Technology Venture Development and Erika Acorn, VP of Business Development at the Tempe Chamber of Commerce shared some great insights and uplifting perspectives on business.

The Tempe Chamber of Commerce represents over 650 businesses with more than 70,000 employees.

The Chamber’s strength is derived from it’s members. Those who invest in the community through membership in the Tempe Chamber support initiatives in education and workforce development, public policy, and business development.

Membership in the Tempe Chamber is an investment in the future of our business community. Because the Tempe Chamber is privately funded, member investments like yours make their work possible.

Erika Acorn is an experienced sales and marketing professional with a love of working for community-driven nonprofit organizations. In 2018, Erika joined the Tempe Chamber of Commerce as a Business Development Specialist quickly moving into her current role as the Vice President of Business Development.

In two years, she has built numerous relationships with business owners and leaders in Tempe and around the Valley, having inspired over 150 leaders to be part of the Chamber.

In her free time, you can find Erika spending quality time with her two teenage daughters, enjoying recreational bike rides, or planning her next culinary adventure either at home or at one of the Valley’s many wonderful locally owned restaurants.

Connect with Erika on LinkedIn.

KLM Consulting is a business development firm with 17+ years of award-winning business savvy. We help successful entrepreneurs and non-profits build, brand and brag about their businesses.

By offering business development consulting, marketing, project management, and social media training, our clients can continue to do what they love while having the support they need.

KLM can help you turn your ideas into action, solve your dilemmas, and/or finish those projects you keep putting on the back burner.

Kelly Lorenzen, CEO of KLM Consulting, is an award-winning entrepreneur with over 17 years of business-ownership experience. She has joined forces with other local experts to provide a multi-faceted team to help small businesses and non-profit organizations with their projects, create solutions-based marketing results, and build their businesses.

Ms. Lorenzen has an extensive sales and marketing background in a variety of industries. She is a certified project management professional with expertise in business development, customer service, marketing, and sales.

Kelly is also a native of Arizona, ASU Alumni, mentor, mother, and philanthropist.

Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn and follow KLM on Facebook and Instagram.

VIC Technology Venture Development screens through an abundance of commercially promising but newly emerging technologies that are available for licensing from federal research laboratories and universities across the US and throughout the globe.

The VIC business model has been optimized to overcome the limitations of the traditional technology transfer approaches to take advantage of the massive base of research conducted that generates enormous amounts of patents. The novel innovations created by the inventors are potentially game-changing technologies.

VIC assembles all the pieces necessary to produce the best objectives of these newly formed ventures in a manner where the potential rewards considerably outweigh the apparent risk involved in R&D and suffice commercialization of these early-stage techs to be problem-solving solutions for a better world.

Dr. T. Greg Tucker, obtained a Doctorate in Chemistry from the School of Molecular Sciences at Arizona State University and a Bachelor’s of Science from Tennessee State University.

More recently, he transitioned from the research lab to the intellectual property (IP) sector as an IP fellow and technical specialist evaluating newly disclosed inventions from faculty and students at ASU Skysong Innovations in Scottsdale. Along with the commercialization of prospective IP into promising companies through VIC Technology Venture Development in Tempe of the Southwest regional division.

Dr. Tucker’s research background specializes in chemical synthesis for preparing ionic liquids, and solid-state compounds for electrochemical testing for renewable energy purposes. He is a co-inventor for multiple issued U.S. patents with Dr. Austen Angell and fellow labmates for creating novel chemical compositions of matter for applications in battery and fuel cells as potential power sources ranging from stationary systems to mobile electronic devices to electric vehicles, which is a tech branch within the Smart Cities movement. He was the latest recipient of one of the ASU Laboratory Innovation Awards.

In addition, Greg is a co-advisor for the ASU Chief Science Officers program for K-12 students in his local community, laboratory instructor at Grand Canyon University, advisor for the Boston Museum of Science, EDI committee member for the Association of University Technology Managers, and serves as a liaison with the Central Arizona Section in Phoenix Metro Valley of the American Chemical Society, wherein 2020 he was recognized as Outreach Member-of-the-Year.

Connect with Dr. Tucker on LinkedIn and Twitter.

ABOUT YOUR MAC6 COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS CO-HOSTS

With a background in marketing, in various for profit and not for profit companies, Kyle McIntosh wondered, “How can I pair the passion and commitment to community progress of a non-profit with the sustainability and reach of a for profit company?” From this question and perspective a mission evolved to tear down the false distinction between the two sectors and to promote companies with Conscious Capitalism® business models through MAC6.

Kyle is the President and Creative Excitant of MAC6. Day to day, his main operational role is on the “spaces” side of the business, focusing on creating thriving communities in the commercial office buildings, the co-working space, and the co-manufacturing space. The other role that he plays is that of EOS implementer, working with clients to bring the Entrepreneurial Operating System, from the book Traction® to their businesses. Additionally, he sits on the boards of Conscious Capitalism Arizona, telling the stories of good businesses in Arizona, and The Tempe Chamber of Commerce, sustaining Tempe’s quality of life and keeping our community and economy vibrant.

Kyle loves Arizona and wants to see us all collectively find great success based on the awesome things that are happening here every day.

Follow MAC6 on Facebook and Twitter.

Jennifer Burwell, joined MAC6 in 2013. Jennifer is their VP and Director of Programs. She uses her experience in real estate, team development and management to seamlessly integrate each of the MAC6 business units to assure they are all focused on the long-term company vision. She is also a student of human behavior.

As a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst, she uses her knowledge to facilitate culture-focused leadership programs with organizations of all sizes to integrate the company’s values and create higher-performing teams.

To learn more about MAC6 Communities, call 480-293-4075 or find them on Facebook

ABOUT OUR SPONSOR

MAC⁶ offers flexible spaces and programs to help your team grow, and a community of thriving businesses, just like yours. Advocating Capitalism as a Force for Good, MAC6 is Accelerating the shift to Conscious Capitalism (where Purpose and Profit Unite) through Creativity, Collaboration, Community and Change.

Joseph Rosales with The Performance Group of Arizona and Cathy Droz with HER Certified

November 3, 2020 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

Joseph Rosales with The Performance Group of Arizona and Cathy Droz with HER Certified

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Joseph Rosales with The Performance Group of Arizona and Cathy Droz with HER Certified

The Performance Group of Arizona is a business consulting and coaching firm specializing in the development of high performance leaders, managers and teams.

Joseph Rosales is the Founder and CEO and has provided services in over 26 countries and is a highly sought after consultant, coach and mentor.

He is published author and recently released his 4th book and digital course titled: The Leader of YOU.

Connect with Joseph on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Cathy Droz is the Founder of HER Certified and Co-Founder of Smart Women Series USA based in Phoenix, Arizona. An author of a book ” A Woman’s Guide to Buying a Car with Confidence and Street Smarts” for the everyday consumer with women in mind.

She has designed a training program for the auto industry teaching from the top down how to sell to women and how to raise the customer service index from women a very crucial component for the success and growth of a dealer organization.

Cathy has most recently joined forces with Joseph Rosales, the President of The Performance Group of Arizona, a seasoned professional in teaching auto dealers how to best serve their customers. With a long and successful history with Manufacturers around the globe, Joseph and Cathy combined their expertise to give a “full assessment” and evaluation of a business and have the tools to make them even more successful. They can zoom a successful plan including one on one with top management.

Connect with Cathy on LinkedIn and follow HER Certified on Facebook and Twitter.

Truth – A Company Culture Full of Gratitude Passion Freedom and Truth E1

October 29, 2020 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

Truth - A Company Culture Full of Gratitude Passion Freedom and Truth E1

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Truth – A Company Culture Full of Gratitude Passion Freedom and Truth E1

Culture Crush continues to highlight leaders and companies that have a great company culture and Ken Smerz, the CEO of Zelus, was a perfect leader and company to highlight for the relaunch of the show. Zelus has grown dramatically over the first three years but at the core, they stay true to their four tenants; gratitude, passion, freedom, and truth. They strive, through all levels of the organization, to be a family that follows these tenants together. Through the conversation, Ken mentions many other “bites” that he uses to lead the company with including communication, mentorship and being care-frontational.

This podcast is full of many “bites” from the company Zelus on how they have grown and maintained their strong company culture. The listeners will want to listen in to hear the bites that can help their company culture as well This is a great podcast to listen to if you are wondering what great company looks like. This podcast is perfect for company leaders that are looking for new ways to strengthen their own company culture. This is also a great podcast to listen to if you are just passionate about good company culture and how to grow and support your company personally.

Resources: Along with highlighting companies with great culture, Culture Crush also tries to provide other great resources and role models through the conversation as well. This episode will mention some amazing resources and quotes from Marcus Buckingham, Jocko Willink, and Michael Gerber.

ZELUS is a leading provider of as-built documentation, 2D and 3D modeling, Virtual Design and Construction (VDC), and Building Information Modeling (BIM) services in North America.

Utilizing state-of-the-art technology—typically laser scanners—they take the physical world and essentially create a computerized “digital twin” to radically improve the construction/building process. The company was founded on a park bench in Phoenix in 2013 and has become the largest and most experienced firm of its kind in the world.

Today, ZELUS clients include Intel, Amazon, Target, as well as many large architectural firms and construction companies.

Ken Smerz is the CEO of ZELUS.

As CEO, he leads the company’s strategic growth and partnerships, oversees team culture and talent acquisition, and guides national expansion efforts.

Follow ZELUS on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

About Culture Crush

Culture Crush is officially relaunched! We are thankful to Debra Caron who launched and hosted the show originally. Culture Crush is back with a new host but the same focus- highlighting what makes a great company culture and how it affects the overall success of a company.

Culture is not just a tag word to be thrown around. It is not something you throw in job descriptions to draw people to applying for jobs within a company.

According to Marcus Buckingham and Ashely Goodall in their book Nine Lies About Work, “Culture is the tenants of how we behave. It’s like a family creed. This is how we operate and treat each other in the family.”

On this long form podcast we will highlight companies local to Arizona and beyond that are crushing it with great culture!

We will talk with company leaders to learn about real-life experiences, tips, and best practices for creating a healthy work environment where employees are finding joy and satisfaction in their work while also striving and growing within the company.

About the Host

Kindra Maples is your new host taking the lead on the relaunch of Culture Crush! She is spartan racer, past animal trainer, previous magician’s assistant, and has a weakness for Oreo cookie shakes. Her journey working with people actually started working with animals as a teenager (don’t worry we won’t go that far back for her bio).

She worked for over 15 years in the zoo industry working with animals and the public. Her passion of working with animals shifted into working with people in education, operations and leadership roles. From there her passion of leadership and helping people develop has continued to grow.

Then came the opportunity for relaunching the Culture Crush Podcast and she jumped on it. Leadership, growth, and strong company cultures are all areas that Kindra is interested in diving into further.

Shout Outs

We want to thank a few people for their behind the scenes effort in helping this relaunch to come to life. James Johnson with Tailored Penguin Media Company LLC.– It is a small, but powerful video production company with a goal to deliver the very best by articulating the vision of your brand in a visually creative way. Gordon Murray with Flash PhotoVideo, LLC. -Flash Gordon has been photographing since high school and evolving since then with new products that will equip, encourage, engage, and enable. Renee Blundon with Renee Blundon Design – She is not only one of the best free divers (that’s not how she helped with the podcast) but she is great with graphics design and taking the direction for the vision that you have while also adding creative ideas to bring to your vision to life.

These are just a few of the folks that supported the relaunch of the podcast. If you would like to be part of the Culture Crush team or would like to support underwriting the show- please reach out: culturecrushpodcast@gmail.com