What's Working in Washington

Steve Balistreri is the Managing Director and National Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) Industry Leader at MorganFranklin Consulting. He is also on the Executive Committee of Mindshare, a 501C6 not-for-profit organization established to support first time CEO's of high-potential emerging technology companies in the Greater Washington market. On today's episode, Steve shares the origin story behind Mindshare, describes how it has helped nearly thirty cohorts of tech CEOs build successful companies, and emphasizes the importance of community for entrepreneurs and investors in the D.C. region.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tien Wong is the CEO of Opus8, a private investment, advisory, and conference management firm located in the Washington, D.C. area. He is also the Chairman and CEO of the Big Idea CONNECTpreneur Forum, a global community of 25,000+ founders, investors, venture capitalists, and CXOs. In this wide-ranging discussion, Tien and Mark examine capital infusion, public-private partnerships, life science and health tech investment, and educational institutions in the DMV.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Doug Anderson is the founder and CEO of DCA Live, an event company that serves the private equity, start-up/VC/tech, real estate, govcon, HR, CFO, cyber, legal, and non profit/association business communities in the greater DC area. On today's episode, Doug and Mark sit down to discuss how DCA Live uniquely segments the DMV business community to celebrate excellence across various siloes of leadership and create opportunities for business leaders to connect and network with their most relevant peer groups.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

John Ackerly is the CEO and co-founder of Virtru, a global leader in data privacy and protection. Virtru's data encryption services are trusted by some of the world's largest companies, like Netflix and Verizon, and protect customers from the data mistakes we all make—whether clicking that suspicious link, or using the same password a few too many times. On today's episode, John shares cautionary tales of data breaches, discusses the growth of his organization, and sheds light on the future of data protection.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gary Danoff is the CEO — that's Chief Empathy Ofifcer — of Gary Danoff Coaching & Advising, and the Global Alliances Leader for Google Cloud and Google Workspace. Offering an entire program called "How To Have A Great Day," Gary's storied career has been dedicated to the pursuit of workplace empathy. From clearing up misperceptions surrounding Gen Z to offering advice to professionals who are confused and concerned about what COVID did to their career, don't miss Gary's insights on leadership, technology, the employee experience, and more.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Eric Koefoot is the founder and CEO of Public Relay, the leading media intelligence solution for Fortune 500 companies and global brands. Eric's company has helped clients such as Bud Light, P&G, and Ford Motor Company understand their brand perception through data-driven insights, offering useful analyses of the past—and predictive plans for the future. Don't miss Eric's expertise on the changing media landscape and what brands need to do to get the right messages to the right people for real impact.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jennifer Ives is the cofounder and CEO at Watering Hole AI, a predictive, forward-looking, and adaptive AI strategy consulting firm. Jennifer has a long and rich history of deploying AI inside the corporate arena, with 20+ years of deep expertise in SaaS, B2B tech, cutting edge/high growth products and services, new customer acquisition, and digital products. On today's episode, Jennifer describes the barriers that companies of all sizes and sectors can encounter in their transition to AI, demystifies this rapidly-advancing technology, and assures its potential as a source of revenue, growth, and customer acquisition.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jennie Blumenthal is the founder and CEO of Corporate Rehab, a training and consulting firm helping executives and entrepreneurs transform their leadership strategies. A former executive in Corporate America for 20 years, Jennie's top-down advice helps people thrive, not just survive, in their careers. Jennie shares her predictions and observations on corporate trends like "quiet quitting," insight into the impact of AI and the human traits that will remain, changes managers need to implement now, and what will make the future generation of leaders rise to the top.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Christopher Leonard is an investigative reporter, director of the Watchdog Writers Group at the Mizzou School of Journalism, and author of bestselling novel, The Lords of Easy Money: How the Federal Reserve Broke the American Economy. In this fascinating discussion, Christopher sheds light on one of America's most mysterious institutions — The Federal Reserve — and argues how quantitative easing, amongst other policies, have accelerated income inequality and put our country's economic stability at risk.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Samantha McKenna is the founder and CEO of #samsales Consulting, an agency she founded after a storied, 13-time record-breaking career in corporate sales and at LinkedIn. On today's episode, Sam describes how she and her all-female team are reinventing the narrative on sales, departing from the tactics of yesteryear's car salesmen to a relationship-driven, manners-centric, authentic method of selling. From avoiding the dreaded "pitch slap" to creating a compelling executive brand, Sam reveals the secrets of her playbook that have earned transformational results for 10-person teams all the way up to Fortune 500 companies.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.