For this story, Steve interviewed Jeff Hintz , Executive Director of Sports Tech HQ in Indiana and VP of Innovation at Indiana Sports Corp . The organization Jeff leads, Sports Tech HQ, works to make Indiana a global hub for sports technology. A native of Indianapolis, Jeff has spent his career focused on what sports can do for a community. He’s a convener and connector, helping sports tech…
Kurt Bauer, CEO of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, representing 3,800 businesses across the state, explains more. Kurt shares how tech plays out, or not, in the 90% of Wisconsin manufacturers with 100 employees or less. Hint: it’s not about the money. He also talks about the “dark factory” but that robots and automation still aren’t solving manufacturing’s biggest problem. Every…
From robots and vision systems to addressing Milwaukee's severe education gap, Austin believes we can (and should) keep talent from running to the coasts. The quick snapshot of my conversation with Austin: Husco’s nearly 500 degreed engineers design the guts of machines the world’s best-known brands put into the world. There’s a staggering amount of data his company collects and doesn’t yet use.…
Kristin’s quick bio: Kristin Milchanowski, PhD is Chief AI and Quantum Officer at BMO Financial Group leads BMO’s AI, data, and analytics strategy, with 20+ years in the field and past roles at Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, and EY. Author of Return on Intelligence , a 43-principle playbook for scaling AI responsibly so small businesses aren’t left behind. Oxford AI fellow with a PhD in Decision…
CEO James Marino speaks to the growth story hiding in plain sight. Quick Bio: James Marino is President and CEO of Jackson’s Food Company , the Muskego-based maker of avocado-oil snacks. James is born-and-raised a Milwaukeean and is a Marquette High grad. Connect with him on LinkedIn . Quick Summary: Jackson’s has quietly scaled its capacity 20X in just a few years. The reason why comes down to…
Who’s in this interview and what’s it about? Sri Kantamneni [ LinkedIn ]: CIDO of Schreiber Foods . Stephen Pounds [ LinkedIn ]: CEO of Vadar Alpha . Summary: In this episode, I talk with Sri and Stephen about what happens when a food manufacturing giant teams up with a scrappy two-year-old startup. They break down (in lemonade-stand terms) how Vadar Alpha helps Schreiber manage pricing, risk, and…
Steve talks with Chris about his recipe behind one of the world's most-used apps, the company he's building with his 17-year-old son, how he's looking forward to his first trip to Milwaukee, and more. You can catch him in Milwaukee as a keynote speaker at Summerfest TechAI 2026 . This special edition episode was sponsored by Cream City Cyber, Milwaukee's global cybersecurity consultancy helping…
Robert Cordova and Derek Hyde talk AI in sports ahead of their unique panel discussion with Tim Dickson on June 24. This special edition episode was sponsored by Cream City Cyber, Milwaukee's global cybersecurity consultancy helping companies of all sizes navigate digital risk. From AI governance to cybersecurity, they've got you covered. Learn more at creamcitycyber.com . In this episode, Steve…
This episode is part of our 2026 Summerfest TechAI series, sponsored by Cream City Cyber . Steve's guests on this one include: Celeste Cuffie, Chief People Officer and Co-founder, Cream City Cyber Sheldon Cuffie, CEO & Co-founder, Cream City Cyber Lena DeLaet, Director of Sales & Summerfest TechAI What you'll get: Sheldon and Celeste share how they bootstrapped Cream City Cyber from scratch into a…
In this episode, Steve talks with Mandela on his take on innovation, startups, AI accountability, and why Wisconsin has everything it needs to compete if we're willing to invest in it. NOTE: This article is not an endorsement for Mandela Barnes . The purpose was to have a conversation about his vision for technology and innovation for the state. I have asked all eight Wisconsin gubernatorial…
