Start At Zero

Though they may not be as quick to pivot as other industries, the utilities are doing their best to keep up with the digital revolution. In the spirit of delivering more efficient, responsive and reliable service, utility boards around the country are adopting digital innovations in their systems and physical technologies. Such is the case of Knoxville Utilities Board, whose President and CEO, Gabe Bolas joins Abhijit Verakar for this interview. There is a reason why we take utilities for granted and why we really should – the utilities are such basic necessities to our modern lifestyle that excellent service means we can go on living without having to think much about them. Gabe intends to keep it that way, and he sees digital innovation as a way to do more of that for far less. In this conversation they touch on topics such as the Automated Metering System, Internet of Things, building a KUB app, the CTO role and the inevitable rise of the internet as the fifth utility.

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The public housing sector is not just about providing livable spaces, but also ensuring a better quality of life for everybody. How are cities responding to this need with the help of information technology? Joining Abhijit Verekar to present the case of Knoxville, Tennessee, is Ben Bentley, the CEO and Executive Director of Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation (KCDC). Far from just being a helpful tool, Ben considers IT as a utility, something that everyone needs to thrive in this rapidly changing world. Learn how KCDC copes with the demands of their sector while working with limited funding and technological capacity.

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Businesses are partners of governments when it comes to creating an innovative city. Sharing the growth of the entrepreneurial community in their city through technology, Abhijit Verekar sits down with Patricia Robledo, the business liaison for the city of Knoxville, Tennessee. Patricia takes us into how the city has changed operations to become more tech-friendly and how they are working with entrepreneurs with tech-oriented businesses. She then further defines what innovation means for the city and how they help the community through those innovative projects. Listen in on this episode to know how Patricia is working to connect with the city’s business community and more!

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It is in the best interest of the government and innovators to join hands and move together into the future so they can better the lives of people. This episode’s guest, Tom Ballard, the Chief Alliance Officer of PYA, P.C., has successfully done that. He sits down with host, Abhijit Verekar, to take us into how Knoxville, Tennessee, has made innovation its focal point and how he is leading in putting people who are innovating in the region into the limelight. On top of that, he also shares his origin story where he discovered the value of innovation in local government, helping citizens and businesses most especially in this current COVID-19 environment. Join Abhijit and Tom as they further talk about the role of the government when it comes to innovation and helping the public.

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One of the biggest points that organizations should consider is how to give customers the confidence that they can transact with them in whichever way they want without compromising the security of their data or account information. To do that, they need to have the infrastructure or the functionality in their IT environment. Joining Abhijit Verekar and co-host Mike Caffrey on today’s podcast is Jaydeep Palkar, who oversees the PCI Compliance and General Governance for Gap. Jaydeep shares how they’re keeping electronic payments and transactions secure for their clients and vendors. As more and more businesses are transitioning from a paper-based process or cash payments to electronic, this is an episode you wouldn’t want to miss.

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When we have somewhere we want to go, we often just think about where we are and where we want to go. We often overlook the roads that take us there and the work that is put into roadway management. Joining Abhijit Verekar on today’s podcast is James Golden, the Founder and CEO of Pavement Management Group. James talks about roadway management and how it can be upgraded and improved. His company focuses on the engineering industry, pavement management, and maintenance. Learn more about roadway management in this episode.

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Innovation is everywhere. However, it’s a word that’s often used in the wrong connotations. For Nicole Raimundo, the Chief Information Officer at the town of Cary, North Carolina, innovation is all about automating processes and delivering services better. On today’s podcast, Nicole joins Abhijit Verekar to share how she found herself being the CIO of the town of Cary. She also shares how they’re implementing and leveraging IoT technologies in the public sector and keeping the town and their networks secure from anything malicious on the internet.

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When organizations or cities innovate, more often than not, the reason is to provide a better experience for the people. Taking this to one of the busiest facilities in any parts of the world, Abhijit Verekar talks to Trevis Gardner, the Vice President of Operations for the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority in Knoxville, Tennessee and the CIO for the Airport Authority. Here, Trevis shares with us how he spearheaded airport innovation in his city, giving us a view of their projects, which aim to help end-users, and the tools they use to help their teams navigate. Speaking as a leader pushing for a long term strategy for technology, he then discusses how he finds the balance between risk-taking and risk-averse. Trevis further gives out some words of wisdom for those who want to incorporate technology into their business strategy.

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A great city manager who pushes its city forward brings innovation at the forefront of what they do. Greg McClain, City Manager for the City of Maryville, Tennessee, is nothing short of being innovative. When he was at the City of Alcoa, he got rid of a T1 line and strung up the first fiber optic cable in the county, keeping it from being left behind. In this episode, he joins Abhijit Verekar to tell us more about what innovation means to a city manager and how it gets translated into the citizens’ daily lives. He takes us back from the beginning of that fiber transformation in Alcoa to looking beyond and translating a bigger vision to the citizens, partners, teams, and more. He also shares how he cuts through the noise of vendors, how he keeps his teams accountable, and what his most impactful project is in terms of technology. Ultimately, innovation is all about doing what is beneficial for the community, and Greg shows us why it should be the driver of any public servant.

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A lot of times, effective leadership entails stepping out of the limelight and away from all the glamor to be able to focus on building the best foundation for your organization to work efficiently. Kimberly Bailey, the Chief Information Officer for the City of Memphis, TN, is such a great leader. She has been able to lead her team successfully, even in a situation where everybody is forced to make a radical shift in the way they work. Kimberly is a model for the modern CIO – communicative, educative, and customer service oriented. She joins Abhijit Verekar on the show to talk about the modern CIO’s role and what the future has in store for it. For her, it’s not always about the technology; everything goes back to being brilliant at the basics, building a strong foundation, and letting the pooled talents of the team do the rest.

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