Delve Talks

Co-hosts Dave Franchino and Stefanie Norvaisas talk with Kim Sponem, President & CEO of Summit Credit Union, one of Wisconsin's largest credit unions. Kim talks about Summit's member-driven focus on innovation and the importance of creating fun in the workplace to nurture innovation.

Co-hosts Dave Franchino and Stefanie Norvaisas talk with Scott Sagehorn, Director of Marketing for Stryker, one of the world’s leading medical technology companies. Scott talks about Stryker's unique culture and how its dominant market share around the world in many areas affects innovation and customer connection.

Co-hosts Dave Franchino and Stefanie Norvaisas talk with Vance Strader, Chief Group Engineer in Advanced Engineering for Harley-Davidson. Vance discusses how innovation takes shape at a company with an iconic brand and devoted consumers. From starting the LiveWire Lab in Silicon Valley to develop electric motorcycles to user research around the world, Harley is actively exploring the future of two-wheeled transportation to keep its brand vibrant in its second century.

Co-hosts Dave Franchino and Stefanie Norvaisas talk with Ian Robertson, Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dean Robertson discusses the challenges of leading a diverse group of constituencies at an educational organization, and what it takes to remain responsive to the evolving needs of employers and students.

Host Dave Franchino talks with Jonathan Spangler, CEO & Founder of Ciari Guitars, a startup launching a cool travel guitar that folds mid-neck. Jonathan discusses his experience as a patent attorney for startups and the journey to become an entrepreneur with his own company.

Host Dave Franchino talks with Will Biederman, head of emerging project for Verily Life Sciences, a division of Alphabet (parent company of Google). Will discusses the advantages and shortcomings of having innovation-focused teams and the need to give every employee time to be creative.

Host Dave Franchino talks with Lee Visci, recently retired from a career of engineering leadership at General Motors. Lee discusses the challenges of keeping innovation alive at a giant company like GM and shares stories about her work at Saturn and on the Volt. She shares what it was like to keep her team focused during the tough bankruptcy years and how smaller companies can take some of what she's learned and apply it to their own innovation efforts.

Host Dave Franchino talks with Jake Leach, Chief Technology Officer at Dexcom, a pioneer and leader in continuous glucose monitoring systems for people managing diabetes. Jake discusses the challenges of the medtech startup world and what it takes to keep improving your product, year after year, for more than a decade.

Host Dave Franchino talks with Ryan Rist, Director of Innovation, at American Family Insurance. Ryan talks about the challenges and opportunities that go with building an innovation team within a big, established company in a highly regulated industry. Just a note that Ryan mentions Design Concepts several times during the interview. Design Concepts changed its name to Delve in August 2019.

Host Dave Franchino talks with Cynthia Bachmann, Vice President of Engineering and Product Development, Kitchen & Bath, for Kohler Co. Cynthia talks about the challenges of fostering a culture of innovation in a company with 150 years of history.