Dear friend and industry superstar, Walt Carter, was kind to stop by Booth 61 during the Digital Ball reception. Walt has history. As the former COO of TechBridge and now an active Host committee of the Digital Ball, Walt has been an active part of a miracle. I do not believe anyone in the first few years could have ever dreamed big enough to capture what TechBridge has become. TechBridge is changing lives on a daily basis and all of us have Walt to thank for his steady leadership. Please listen to this interview to hear a man who is filled by passion as he serves our community, not because he is paid to do this or it is part of his job. Walt serves because it is who he is on the inside. His heart is a big as all outdoors which you will better understand and appreciate after you listen to his interview. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do to make all our citizens experience a better life, Brother Walt!
Margaret Martin, Founder and CEO of Merlin Mobility, visits Booth 61 at the Atlanta CEO Council 3/03/2014
I love days when I meet someone new especially when they are as smart, energetic, and successful as Margaret Martin. Blake Patton was kind to introduce me to Margaret at the Atlanta CEO Council meeting last Monday. Margaret agreed to join me in Booth 61 to talk about her very exciting company, Merlin Mobility. Merlin is a Georgia Tech Innovation Institute company located in the Atlanta Technology Development Center (ATDC), at Georgia Tech. Merlin Mobility’s cloud-hosted Augmented Reality (AR) platform enables companies to create, host, deliver, manage and track mobile AR-based content and customer data. The platform is available in both Software as a Service (SaaS) and Enterprise versions. The most fascinating thing I learned is that Margaret has been leading Merlin for over 5 years without any venture or angel investment. Merlin’s funding has been generated from their clients which in my book is as good as it gets. I am sure you will enjoy hearing Margaret share her story.
Blake Patton, Managing Partner of Tech Square Ventures visits Booth 61 at the Atlanta CEO Council 3/3/2014
I really enjoyed my friend, Blake Patton, dropping by Booth 61 earlier this week at the Atlanta CEO Council event. I first met Blake about 8 or 9 years ago during one of his earlier entrepreneurial ventures. Today, Blake is the Managing Partner of Tech Square Ventures, Atlanta’s newest and very exciting early stage venture fund. Blake was most recently the General Manager & Entrepreneur-In-Residence at the ATDC, one of the oldest and one of the premier technology incubators in the country. Blake knows how to spot an early stage company that has the greatest chance of success. I believe Blake will be very successful and his investors delighted with the results of Tech Square Ventures. Listen to Blake’s interview and you will understand why I and many, many other people are bullish on the Atlanta technology scene.
Sandy Hofmann visits Booth 61 at the Atlanta CEO Council Meeting 3/03/2014
What a treat to be able to spend time with the Atlanta Gadfly, herself, Mrs. Sandy Hofmann. Sandy is one of the most energetic and giving people in our Atlanta technology community. Name any organization in this city and Sandy has been involved, chaired, or received it’s highest honor. Sandy’s latest gift to our community is chairing a committee for the Atlanta Regional Commission. Sandy shared highlights of her work on this committee during our time together. Let’s all hope and pray that Sandy and her team are very successful because they will make Atlanta an even greater city for all of our citizens.
United Way CIO Conversations with Becky Blalock and Keith Barsuhn
Booth 61 on Wednesday, February 19th, 2014 was a special treat. My long time friend and technology industry legend, Becky Blalock and United Way executive, Keith Barsuhn joined me to discuss the exciting United Way CIO Conversations event scheduled for Friday, March 7th at the IBM headquarters in Sandy Springs.
This is a DO NOT MISS EVENT where you will hear from four of Atlanta’s most influential CIO’s: Dave Barnes/CIO of UPS, Dr. Guido Sacchi/CIO of Global Payments, Janet Sherlock/CIO of Carter’s and David Webb/CIO of Equifax. You will hear them share their technology plans for 2014 and beyond. You will also be able to ask questions at the end of the panel discussion.
This year’s United Way IT campaign is being led by Becky Blalock and Jay Ferro/CIO of American Cancer with a strong team of volunteer leaders you can find on the IT United Web Site.
Tim Campos, CIO of Facebook on Booth 61 at the GCLA CIO of the Year 2013
Tim Campos, CIO of Facebook on Booth 61 11/01/2013
Tim is in Atlanta today as a guest of Ed Steinike, CIO of The Coca-Cola Company. 1,110 technologists are gathered to see the CIO’s of the Year honored and hear Tim Campos share where Facebook is today and where Facebook is taking the business community.
It was an honor to have Tim in Booth 61!
Gabe Damiani & David Degitz Share the iVision Success Story 10/30/13
Booth 61 with Gabe Damiani and David Degitz is one of the best interviews since we began this show in January. You are going to hear the amazing success story of iVision. You are going to hear pearls of wisdom you can use beginning today to improve your personal life and the life of your organization.
There are more highlights in this interview than I can list so you will have to listen to this in its entirety. What struck me is the success of iVision is the perfect example of Cause and Effect. The Values of iVision are PIRRFAH. I know you are eagerly awaiting the explanation of this almost unpronounceable acronym. Passion, Integrity, Respect, Rigor, Focus, Accountability, and Humility are the values of iVision. All decisions from hiring to new client strategy to expansion plans are focused on their values and what is best for their clients. That is Cause. The Effect is growth from $220,000 in revenues in 2004 to over $37,000,000 in revenues in 2012. In addition, iVision has maintained 100% client retention for the past 9 years. Finally, their employee retention rate is also off the charts. Those are three of the many metrics that are the Effect from the Cause.
I know you are going to enjoy this interview. It was certainly a blessing for me to spend several hours with Gabe and David.
Bill Winter and Ned Coker with CCP Games Take Booth 61 Into Outer Space and What A Great Trip It Was: 10/23/2013
Words will hardly describe or explain all I learned on Booth 61 with Bill Winter and Ned Coker from CCP Games. Bill and Ned took me on a trip that was out of this world. I was entertained and I learned a tremendous amount about the wonderful world of Online Gaming. CCP Games is a very successful creator of online games including one of the world’s best known, EVE ONLINE. The levels of sophistication, detail, and depth of their game opened my eyes to a world I had not experienced and it makes the original Star Wars movie seem like Etch a Sketch.
CCP Games is an international company with a heavy presence in good old Decatur, Georgia. I could write about my experience with Bill and Ned for another 25 paragraphs and not capture the excitement, insight, and joy I felt being in the studio with them. There was one thing I meant to tell them but our time slipped away too quickly so I will do it now. I was blown away with their passion for their industry, their company, their games and even for one another. During our time in the booth, I felt like I had drifted into an old fashioned tent revival. I am a firm believer that passion is what separates the extraordinary from the ordinary in the game of life. Bill and Ned are passionate people and you will experience their passion while listening to our broadcast. I believe Bill and Ned would work without a paycheck if necessary to be around their team of fellow dreamers.
Enough of my commentary, please listen to this interview and then pass it along to your friends especially to those who enjoy online gaming. They will thank you for introducing them to Bill, Ned, and CCP Games.
Becky Blalock: Author of DARE, Speaker, Consultant, Corporate Board Member & Great Friend: 10/16/2013
Booth 61 show #30 enjoyed the largest Live audience since we began this adventure last January. As I said in my introduction of Becky Blalock: “Everybody knows Becky, everyone respects Becky, and everyone loves Becky”. I am certain every person who listened to the show Live, walked away grateful to Becky for who she is, what she and done, and her willingness to share her incredible life story.
I hope you will listen to this interview and share it with others. Men will receive just as much as women will by listening to Becky’s success story. I only wish Becky had written this book 30 years ago. I could have been more proactive than I was at promoting, nurturing, and mentoring the women who have worked with me. I am wiser today because not only have I read DARE but I have watched Becky for the last 15 years up close and in person.
Becky’s accomplishments are too numerous to list but a few that I must share include: Becky was the first female CIO of The Southern Company. Becky is a former GCLA CIO of the year in 2003 and in 2011 received the Life Time Achievement Award. In 2011, Becky was also given the highest honor bestowed by Women in Technology, the Legacy Award. Becky has been very active in our community with United Way, Leadership Atlanta, Leadership Georgia, Emory Healthcare, and the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta just to name a few. Becky is a new author with the release of her book Dare. If you do not buy and read this book, I would love for you to send me a note to tell me why. This book will empower women and educate men on the importance of mentorship, sponsorship, and taking risks.
You may purchase and I do urge you to purchase DARE at Becky’s website: www.beckyblalock.com. If you read this book and apply the principles, it will change your life. You can also follow Becky on Facebook: at DARE and on Twitter: @Becky_Blalock.
