Innovation Heroes

Elizabeth Bieniek’s unexpected journey building Webex Hologram

It’s good to identify a problem. But’s it’s even better to find a solution. 

We speak with Elizabeth Bieniek, an innovation consultant and a former Cisco strategist who spearheaded the creation of Webex Hologram – the first real-time, photorealistic holographic tool to transform business collaboration.  

Elizabeth shares her journey from a strategic partnerships role to leading the development of revolutionary technology. Learn how a seemingly simple disagreement transformed into a pivotal moment, igniting a quest to redefine remote collaboration.  

Listen to the full episode below or wherever you get your podcasts.  

Featuring: Elizabeth is the author of "Cake on Tuesday: 25 Lessons to Unlock Corporate Innovation.” 

AI: Enhancing employee satisfaction at work

AI is stealing jobs. But that’s not the whole story. In this episode of Innovation Heroes, we explore the often-overlooked benefits of AI in the workplace.  

 

While AI is automating tasks and changing job roles, it's also empowering employees, boosting creativity, learning, and unlocking their untapped potential. We speak with Geoff Wright, Global Solutions Owner at Mondelēz International, a global snack food brand leveraging AI to improve their employee experience. 

 

Listen to the full episode below or wherever you get your podcasts.  

Featuring: Geoff Wright, Global Solutions Owner at Mondelēz International 

XDR; the brain of the cyber security nervous system

When bad actors get more sophisticated, cybersecurity professionals only have one choice: Innovation.  

In this episode of Innovation Heroes, we explore the rapidly changing cybersecurity landscape with Brianna Farro, Cisco's Security Director of XDR Product Management. Briana explains why traditional siloed security approaches are insufficient in today's complex threat environment and how extended detection response, or XDR, provides a more comprehensive solution. 

We delve into the key capabilities of XDR, including its ability to correlate data from multiple sources, prioritize critical threats, and automate responses. Briana shares real-world examples of XDR's success and advocates for Cisco's open and hybrid XDR approach. Discover how XDR can help your organization improve its security posture and stay ahead of the curve. 

Featuring: Briana Farro, Cisco Security Director of XDR Product Management 

Smart cities in action: How Cary, NC is pioneering municipal innovation

What happens when a small town in North Carolina embraces cutting-edge technology to become a leader in smart city innovation? In this episode, host Ed McNamara is joined by SHI’s Senior Vice President of Public Sector Sales, Denise Collison, and special guest Dan Ault, Assistant Town Manager and Chief Innovation Officer for Cary, North Carolina.  

Together, they dive into the challenges and successes of digital transformation in local government. Ault shares insights on pioneering smart city initiatives, securing critical infrastructure, and improving citizen engagement, while Collison adds her expertise on navigating the unique complexities of public sector technology adoption. 

Through this conversation, listeners get a glimpse of how municipalities like Cary are leveraging technology to create more connected, efficient, and secure communities. From the use of sensors to mitigate stormwater risks to the implementation of a groundbreaking 311 system, Ault’s work exemplifies the future of digital government.  

Listen to the full episode below or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Featuring: Dan Ault, Assistant Town Manager and Chief Innovation Officer of the Town of Cary, North Carolina and Denise Collison, Senior Vice-President of Public Sector Sales at SHI 

The AI breakthrough in breast cancer detection

What if the key to detecting cancer earlier—and saving thousands of lives—lies in AI? Host Ed McNamara explores how Kheiron Medical is making that a reality. Joined by Peter Kecskemethy, CEO and co-founder, and Sarah Kerruish, Chief Strategy Officer, they delve into the groundbreaking technology behind Mia® – Kheiron’s AI-powered tool that is revolutionizing breast cancer detection by detecting what the human eye might miss. 

Named one of the biggest medical breakthroughs of 2023, Mia® is proving its potential in real-world clinical settings, boosting breast cancer detection rates and offering hope to thousands of women. Peter and Sarah share the challenges, triumphs, and future of AI in healthcare, offering a glimpse into how technology is reshaping cancer diagnostics and changing lives.  

Listen to the full episode below or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Featuring: Peter Kecskemethy, CEO and co-founder of Kheiron Medical, and Sarah Kerruish, Chief Strategy Officer. 

Mastering AI and zero trust with Chris Louie and Brian Deitch of Zscaler

As AI continues to dominate conversations around digital transformation, its implications for cybersecurity are becoming impossible to ignore. In this latest episode of Innovation Heroes, we dive into the dynamic world of AI and cybersecurity with two expert guests, Chris Louie, Customer Success Architect, and Brian Deitch, Chief Technology Evangelist at Zscaler.  

As leaders in cloud security and popular podcasters of the show PEBCAK, Louie and Deitch break down the critical intersections between artificial intelligence and Zero Trust security. They share practical insights into how AI is transforming threat detection and response, and explore the evolving use cases of AI in business.  

Join us as we discuss both the opportunities and threats posed by AI and how businesses can protect themselves in an increasingly digital world. 

Listen to the full episode below or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Featuring: Brian Deitch, Chief Technology Evangelist at Zscaler and Chris Louie, Customer Success Architect at Zscaler.  

Turning failure into future innovation

How can failure fuel future success? To answer this question, Ed McNamara meets with two remarkable guests: Michael Stern, the former General Counsel at General Magic and CEO of Spellbound Productions and Veronica Miles, COO of General Magic Workshops. The conversation revolves around one of Silicon Valley’s most iconic "failures"—General Magic—a company that was far ahead of its time and whose work laid the foundation for much of the technology we use every day. 

Together, Miles and Stern reflect on General Magic's legacy, the revolutionary innovations it brought forth, and the valuable lessons it offers to the next generation of innovators.

Featuring: Michael Stern, formally General Counsel at General Magic and executive producer of the General Magic film, and Veronica Miles, COO of General Magic Workshops  

SHI's Innovation Heroes is a podcast exploring the people and businesses driving change in our drastically disrupted world. 

Industry 4.0 in space: exploring the final frontier of innovation

Welcome to Season 6 of Innovation Heroes. On this episode, Ed McNamara is joined by SHI Field CTO Dave Gruver to explore the transformative power of Industry 4.0 technologies across various sectors—including healthcare, retail, and manufacturing.  

But that's not all––we're setting our sights even higher, looking at how these advancements are propelling us into space. With insights from Intel’s Stacey Shulman, VP of Health, Education, and Consumer Industries, this episode delves into how space innovation is poised to revolutionize the business landscape.  

Discover the challenges, opportunities, and future trends of Industry 4.0 and how businesses can prepare to thrive in this new era. Tune in now to learn how SHI is helping businesses solve what's next, both on Earth and beyond. 

Listen to the full episode below or wherever you get your podcasts.  

Featuring: Dave Gruver, SHI Field CTO and Stacey Shulman, VP Health, Education and Consumer Industries, NEX Group at Intel 

SHI's Innovation Heroes is a podcast exploring the people and businesses driving change in our drastically disrupted world. 

Innovation Heroes returns with season 6

Innovation Heroes is back, bringing with it an exciting new format and a roster of elite guests. Hosted by Ed McNamara, Season 6 is here to help business leaders solve what’s next. 

Each episode explores groundbreaking innovations across industries, from advances in healthcare and cybersecurity to the latest developments in AI and even outerspace IT. Innovation Heroes continues to shine a spotlight on the IT professionals driving transformational change in an ever-evolving world. 

Don’t miss the debut of Season 6 next week. Be sure to like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts to stay ahead of the curve. 

 

Storage Warriors: Resiliency at the Intersection of Access and Security

In 2019, the City of New Orleans was hit by a cyberattack and came to a halt. Within hours, thousands of servers, virtual machines, and computers were shut down. They were told by the National Guard that they needed to build a completely new infrastructure. 

 

This week, we discuss the unsung heroes in data storage, those defending against cybersecurity attacks, building new infrastructure, and supporting AI innovation. Andrew Miller, Lead Principal Technologist of the Americas, Pure Storage, outlines how they were able to replace the entire storage footprint in New Orleans. He outlines the conversations he has with customers about resiliency, what he calls the intersection of disaster recovery and security. 

 

We also explore the changing landscape of storage and cloud in 2024, and the current trends in threats like ransomware. Miller provides tips for data protection, developing security frameworks, and getting buy-in for security spend. 

 

Featured Guest:

Andrew Miller, Lead Principal Technologist of the Americas, Pure Storage

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This episode is brought to you by Pure Storage. Turn bottlenecks into breakthroughs with Pure’s modern data experience. Talk to an expert today and learn more at shi.com/brands/pure-storage.

Innovation Heroes is an SHI podcast. New episodes are now available on YouTube and all major podcast platforms. Visit https://blog.shi.com/podcasts/.