Innovation Heroes

AI is here and IT leaders are under pressure to make it work—fast. But adoption doesn’t happen overnight, and organizations need a clear strategy to drive ROI from Microsoft Copilot.

In this episode of Innovation Heroes, host Ed McNamara sits down with three of SHI's Microsoft experts—Carrie Randolph (Public Sector Strategist), Michael Heath (Power Platform Solutions Engineer), and Dominick Raimato (Microsoft MVP & Sr. Solution...

What if the company you worked for went bankrupt overnight—only for a bold new leader to step in and turn it into a multi-billion-dollar powerhouse?  

That’s exactly what happened to SHI’s first employee, Melissa Graham.  

In this special episode of Innovation Heroes, we’re celebrating the 35th anniversary of SHI. Melissa, the company's very first employee, shares stories about co-founder and CEO, Thai Lee and dives into SHI’s incr...

Last month, no one had heard of DeepSeek. But then it racked up a stunning 16 million downloads in just 18 days — nearly double ChatGPT’s initial adoption. 

The China-based AI model has certainly captured the attention of both investors and technologists. But while some see it as the future of AI, others are raising red flags over its origins and potential security risks. 

In this episode of Innovation Heroes, we explore what...

How are data and AI revolutionizing teams—whether on the field or in the boardroom?

 In this episode of Innovation Heroes, Casey Murphy, goalkeeper for the North Carolina Courage and the U.S. Women’s National Team, and Founder and Director of Operations of AP2T, Mike Olim, dive into the cutting-edge tech reshaping elite sports.

 From wearables to AI-driven insights, discover how these tools optimize performance and help give you an...

What if the future of AI didn’t live in the cloud, but right in the palm of your hand?  

In this episode of Innovation Heroes, host Ed McNamara uncovers the revolution of on-device AI with Qualcomm's Mike Belcher, Director of North American Commercial Channels.  

Discover how this cutting-edge technology is reshaping industries, slashing costs, helping the environment and redefining what’s possible in personalization, efficiency, a...

It's been an incredible year of captivating stories and thought provoking discussions. We're taking a short break over the holidays to recharge, plan, and gear up for even more exciting episodes in the new year.

So mark your calendar, stay subscribed, and keep an ear out for our return.  Until then, take care, enjoy the holiday season, and thank you for making this year truly unforgettable.

From SHI and the Innovation Heroes team, ...

It’s good to identify a problem. But’s it’s even better to find a solution. 

We speak with Elizabeth Bieniek, an innovation consultant and a former Cisco strategist who spearheaded the creation of Webex Hologram – the first real-time, photorealistic holographic tool to transform business collaboration.  

Elizabeth shares her journey from a strategic partnerships role to leading the development of revolutionary technology. Learn how...

AI is stealing jobs. But that’s not the whole story. In this episode of Innovation Heroes, we explore the often-overlooked benefits of AI in the workplace.  

While AI is automating tasks and changing job roles, it's also empowering employees, boosting creativity, learning, and unlocking their untapped potential. We speak with Geoff Wright, Global Solutions Owner at Mondelēz International, a global snack food brand leveraging AI t...

When bad actors get more sophisticated, cybersecurity professionals only have one choice: Innovation.  

In this episode of Innovation Heroes, we explore the rapidly changing cybersecurity landscape with Brianna Farro, Cisco's Security Director of XDR Product Management. Briana explains why traditional siloed security approaches are insufficient in today's complex threat environment and how extended detection response, or XDR, provi...

What happens when a small town in North Carolina embraces cutting-edge technology to become a leader in smart city innovation? In this episode, host Ed McNamara is joined by SHI’s Senior Vice President of Public Sector Sales, Denise Collison, and special guest Dan Ault, Assistant Town Manager and Chief Innovation Officer for Cary, North Carolina.  

Together, they dive into the challenges and successes of digital transformation in l...

What if the key to detecting cancer earlier—and saving thousands of lives—lies in AI? Host Ed McNamara explores how Kheiron Medical is making that a reality. Joined by Peter Kecskemethy, CEO and co-founder, and Sarah Kerruish, Chief Strategy Officer, they delve into the groundbreaking technology behind Mia® – Kheiron’s AI-powered tool that is revolutionizing breast cancer detection by detecting what the human eye might miss. 

Named...

As AI continues to dominate conversations around digital transformation, its implications for cybersecurity are becoming impossible to ignore. In this latest episode of Innovation Heroes, we dive into the dynamic world of AI and cybersecurity with two expert guests, Chris Louie, Customer Success Architect, and Brian Deitch, Chief Technology Evangelist at Zscaler.  

As leaders in cloud security and popular podcasters of the show PEB...

How can failure fuel future success? To answer this question, Ed McNamara meets with two remarkable guests: Michael Stern, the former General Counsel at General Magic and CEO of Spellbound Productions and Veronica Miles, COO of General Magic Workshops. The conversation revolves around one of Silicon Valley’s most iconic "failures"—General Magic—a company that was far ahead of its time and whose work laid the foundatio...

Welcome to Season 6 of Innovation Heroes. On this episode, Ed McNamara is joined by SHI Field CTO Dave Gruver to explore the transformative power of Industry 4.0 technologies across various sectors—including healthcare, retail, and manufacturing.  

But that's not all––we're setting our sights even higher, looking at how these advancements are propelling us into space. With insights from Intel’s Stacey Shulman, VP of Health, Educati...

Innovation Heroes is back, bringing with it an exciting new format and a roster of elite guests. Hosted by Ed McNamara, Season 6 is here to help business leaders solve what’s next. 

Each episode explores groundbreaking innovations across industries, from advances in healthcare and cybersecurity to the latest developments in AI and even outerspace IT. Innovation Heroes continues to shine a spotlight on the IT professionals driving t...

In 2019, the City of New Orleans was hit by a cyberattack and came to a halt. Within hours, thousands of servers, virtual machines, and computers were shut down. They were told by the National Guard that they needed to build a completely new infrastructure. 

This week, we discuss the unsung heroes in data storage, those defending against cybersecurity attacks, building new infrastructure, and supporting AI innovation. Andrew Mill...

Design-led companies such as Apple, Starbucks, and Airbnb outperform the S&P 500 index by 219%. The question is why?

Today’s guest Paul Stonick -- VP of SCADpro, the Savannah College of Art and Design’s in-house design studio -- says he has the answer.

Paul says this human-centered approach to problem solving unleashes creativity in any organization. Design can solve everything, says Stonick. On the episode, he dives into how t...

We’re taking December off – but don't worry, we’ll be back in January with all new episodes of Innovation Heroes. Happy holidays!

On today’s bonus episode: Ed chats with Victoria Barber, Senior Director of Strategic Insights at SHI, about her new podcast We Got Your Mac – and why it’s time business leaders take a closer look at Mac.

To put it simply: If you want to innovate, you need to give your people choice. It doesn't hurt that...

Charles “Chuck” Rinker wants people to be as addicted to their own health as some are to video games. He should know – he was the director behind EA Sports’ NCAA/Madden series. Now, as CEO and Founder of PRSONAS by nuMedia Innovations Inc, he’s bringing digital personalities to industries, such as the healthcare sector.  

Rinker discusses his career trajectory, starting out in cattle farming and then going on to Black Ops military ...