Tech Support

Plug and Play has a network of 30,000+ startups, carefully curated by their experts. They expedite startup growth through acceleration programs, connections to their open innovation ecosystem, and investments.

World-leading corporations, looking to stay at the forefront of innovation in their industry. Plug and Play helps them in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution.

Joel Gordon’s experiences over a lifetime are diverse and have shaped his philosophy on education and our desire to Make. 

His training in electronics, coding, sculpture, and mechanics has led to an exciting career that has taken him around the world and back again.

This episode we hear from Canem Arkan, Managing Director of Endeavor Northwest Arkansas, and learn how Endeavor is helping entrepreneurs transform industries, communities, and countries.

On this episode of Tech Support, we hear from Shelley Simpson and a powerhouse panel from JB Hunt about amplifying the voice of women in technology leadership!

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Panelists:

Margaret Townsend, Senior Vice President Engineering & Technology, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.

Margaret W. Townsend is a Sr. VP for J.B. Hunt’s Engineering and Technology organization and is responsible for leading a significant portion of J.B. Hunt’s modernization efforts for the quote to cash processes and systems. She also leads corporate-wide data science and tracking and telematic solutions. 

 

Margaret spent the first 20 years of her career with General Electric in both industrial and financial businesses where she held leadership roles in design engineering, sourcing, supply chain, consumer service, operations and quality. Prior to joining J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. she was VP Business Excellence for Tempur Sealy International, General Manager Quality and Business Excellence for Microsoft Corporation, Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer for Washington Mutual’s Banking and Mortgage businesses, Senior Vice President of Quality for GE’s reinsurance business and served as a member of the Board of Overseers for the Malcolm Baldrige Program. Margaret holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from George Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University.

 

 

Vana Matte, Senior Vice President Engineering & Technology, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.

Vana Matte, Senior Vice President of Engineering & Technology at J.B. Hunt, is a global technology and digital transformation executive who leverages business-centric technology leadership to scale growth while safeguarding the business through cybersecurity expertise. Vana is a strategic, innovative leader with 20+ years of experience delivering competitive edge solutions on a global scale. 

 

Vana leads the J.B. Hunt 360 digital freight matching platform infrastructure and operations, cyber security, cloud, network, business continuity development and IT operations (DevOps) continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD), quality assurance, and performance and tuning. Vana ensures J.B. Hunt driver technologies and shipper integration technologies are running effectively. Vana was instrumental in enabling J.B. Hunt employees to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

 

Lori Homsher, Vice President Engineering & Technology, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.

Lori is a Senior Executive who helps companies succeed through the strategic use of technology. In her current role as VP of Engineering & Technology at J. B. Hunt, Lori is focused on strategic technology initiatives to drive growth and industry disruption. Prior to joining J. B. Hunt in 2017, she was CEO of a 3rd-party logistics company and also has 25 years of prior experience in Executive Technology roles. Lori’s passions are translating corporate vision into actionable strategy and inspiring tech teamwork that is directly tied to business goals. 

 

Lori has a Computer Science degree from Albright College, Masters in Technology Management from University of Maryland, and several certifications including GIAC Security Leadership. Lori has also taught cyber security and data communications at a college level, and is a 2nd degree black belt.

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The NWA Tech Summit Podcast is recorded on location at (and supported by) Movista!

Hear from two amazing leaders at Pinterest! This episode we hear from Dr. LeMia Jenkins, Global Head of Communications and Yasmin el Baily, Head of Merchant Growth, and learn how Pinterest is helping merchants – small business owners, really – build their customer base and the technology they’re using to do that.

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The NWA Tech Summit Podcast is recorded on location at (and supported by) Movista!

Kitestring is a hometown success story; they’ve been in business for more than 20 years now and have made a name for themselves as a leading technology services firm.

 

In this episode of Tech Support, we hear from Karen Gillespie – who came to Kitestring from a firm in Chicago and serves as their in-house Corporate Counsel. In this session, Karen breaks down the basics of how to think outside the U.S. when hiring technical staff.

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The NWA Tech Summit Podcast is recorded on location at (and supported by) Movista!

Take a quick tour through some of the newest projects being created by artists from NEW INC, the New Museum's in New York City's incubator program, including a co-presentation of a shared project by Mark Ramos and Jonah Brucker-Cohen. In partnership with Nokia Bell Labs' storied Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.) program, and Rhizome, the internet's home for born-digital artworks, artists in NEW INC's Art & Code track are using artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and browser based interactive experiences to define a new mode of art making.

In a region that boasts well over 200 miles of soft surface mountain bike trails and over 400 miles of paved trails, it's the mountain bike capital of the world – Bentonville, AR! It's the epicenter of entrepreneurship, and it's a corridor that boasts some of the highest performing companies along the supply chain.

This week we're joined by Brandon Quirk - CEO of Allied Cycle Works - and Simon Mottram - Founder of Rapha!

Allied Cycle Works is a premium drop-handle bike company that has set out to make the best bicycles and components in the world, right here in America.

Founded by Simon Mottram in London in 2004, Rapha makes the world’s finest cycling clothing. For 15 years, our products have redefined comfort, performance, and style for cyclists from absolute beginners through to WorldTour professionals.

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The NWA Tech Summit Podcast is recorded on location at (and supported by) Movista!