Welcome to the Arena from ICR – Conversations with Today's Innovators & Business Leaders
In the increasingly crowded and competitive corporate and financial ecosystem, it’s harder than ever for companies to break through the clutter and be heard. The media, investors, agenda-driven influencers, even customers and competitors, are defining your business story on their terms. Therefore, it is imperative that companies take control and proactively drive the conversation with stakeholders in an effort to build & maintain equity value. In Welcome to the Arena from ICR, Co-Founder & CEO of ICR, Tom Ryan, interviews key business and financial players who influence the fate of public or aspiring public companies in the capital markets. As a former Wall Street Journal ranked sell-side equity analyst and the founder of one of the largest strategic communications firms in the world, Tom understands what it takes to navigate this complex environment. This is a forum for CEOs, CFOs, institutional investors, sell-side analysts, financial journalists, private equity professionals and other financial community participants to share their stories and give advice in an open and candid conversation. For more information, visit http://www.icrinc.com
Episodes
If you hear words like 'crypto', 'Ethereum' and 'Blockchain' and feel confused, you're definitely not alone. Today, we're sitting down with someone who's been in crypto since long before it became the hot new thing, and getting her insight into how it works, and why it matters.
Maja Vujinovic is the CEO of Digital Assets at FG Nexus, which trades under the symbol FGNX and specializes in ETH accumulation, yield Generati...
It's officially fall, and that means we're deep into the MLB playoffs, and the NHL, NFL and NBA seasons are in full swing. With it being such an exciting time for professional sports, we thought it'd be an opportune moment to revisit an episode we recorded in April, where Doug Perlman, CEO of Sports Media Advisors, demystifies the complex process of negotiating league media rights. We hope you enjoy this fascinating look i...
This week, we're reaching back into the archive, and re-releasing an episode from back in May with Jereme Kent, the CEO of One Power Company. Given our recent episodes focusing on AI-driven enterprises, we thought it would be a good time to revisit this episode where Jereme discusses the need for a modernized grid to power those projects. Enjoy!
Summary:
The world has changed a lot in the last century, but it might surpris...
When you're running a large industrial operation, tracking all of the elements of your process to know where they are and what they're doing in real-time, can be a huge challenge. Today, we're spotlighting a company whose revolutionary platform can help solve that problem.
Ed Nabrotzky is the CEO and co-founder of Dot Ai, a company specializing in industrial asset intelligence solutions. Ed brings with him over 25 years of...
George Tomeski, CEO, Helfie.ai – Paging Dr. iPhone: Using AI to help you take control of your health
Summary:
In today's medical system, getting a proper diagnosis and course of treatment can take ages, with potentially disastrous consequences for your health. Today, we're spotlighting a company that's trying to change that paradigm, using the power of AI.
George Tomeski is the CEO of Helfie.ai, a company whose platform will allow you to assess a whole host of health conditions using only your smartphone. And they hop...
Summary:
Since the 1980s, beloved children's clothing brand Hanna Andersson has been delivery quality and durability to happy customers.
Now, Aimée Lapic leads the company as CEO and is using her deep experience in apparel, retail, and omnichannel marketing to turn the legacy brand into a digital powerhouse. Today, they're building on their long-standing strengths with innovative products and services designed to give fam...
When John O'Donnell founded Johnnie-O in 2005, his goal was to create a brand that combined East Coast prep with West Coast surf culture. 20 years later, you'll find their surfer logo in golf pro-shops and menswear stores across the country.
Today, John joins us to share his incredible journey from being a walk-on on the UCLA golf team to founding one of America's most iconic golf brands.
We get into the origins of J...
Issuing convertible derivatives can be a great way for companies to raise capital, but issuance can be complex and daunting. Today's guest, Syed "Raj" Imteaz, has made a career out of demystifying that process.
Raj is the head of ICR's Convertible and Equity Derivatives Advisory. During his career at ICR, Barclays and Lehman Brothers, he has worked on more than 200 convertible and equity derivatives transactions, totall...
Ziosk's pioneering pay-at-the-table solutions mean that customers at their partner restaurants are never stuck waiting for the bill. And now they're working to leverage their treasure trove of data to boost efficiency and improve customer experience, in ways that go far beyond payment.
Rhonda Levene is the CEO of Ziosk, a leading digital hospitality platform serving major restaurant brands such as Chili's, Texas Roadhouse,...
Summary:
a.k.a. Brands have seen incredible success bringing their digitally native brands into the physical marketplace. A big part of that success comes from their 'test and repeat' retail strategy, which allows them to gauge and adapt to consumer trends extremely quickly.
Ciaran Long has been serving as the CEO of a.k.a brands for more than two years. He was previously CFO at Samsclub.com, and held other leadership p...
Summary:
There are a lot of different brands fighting for market share in the "polished" segment of the restaurant industry. To stand out, you need to offer great food, at great value, in a great atmosphere. But above all, you need to make sure you have the right people at your side.
And if anyone knows the value of people, it's Steve Kislow, the CEO of Firebirds wood-fired Grills. Since joining the Firebirds team in 20...
It's been nearly a year since we sat down with Andy Goldberg, the CEO of PCH media, to discuss how the company has successfully navigated more than 40 years of shifts in the media industry. A lot has changed since we spoke, which in a way, makes this conversation all the more relevant. We hope you enjoy, and we'll be back with a fresh episode next week.
Summary:
Longevity in any business is something to celebrate, but when...
As a workwear and outdoor apparel company, it's imperative that you stay attentive to the needs of your customer, and remain nimble enough to adapt to the demands of an ever-shifting retail landscape. Well, the folks at Duluth Trading are doing exactly that.
Today we're sitting down with Stephanie Pugliese, the CEO of Duluth Trading, which trades under the symbol DLTH. She first joined Duluth trading in November of 2008...
As we take a brief hiatus from releasing new episodes this week, we thought it would be interesting to revisit this episode from December 2024 with Michael Saylor. Ahead of the Trump administration officially taking office, Michael explained why he thought the year ahead would be a seminal one in the history of Bitcoin. Was he correct? You be the judge.
Summary:
With a new, crypto-friendly administration incoming, ...
In their 125 years in existence, Alico had grown to become one of America's leading citrus producers. In January 2025, owing to adverse weather events and crop disease, they made the difficult decision to wind down their citrus operations and adopt a new real estate-focused business model.
Today, we sit down with John Kiernan, president and CEO of Alico, which trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol ALCO. John has been ov...
The Trump administration has made American reindustrialization a top priority, but to do that, the US is going to need access to an abundance of metals like copper, manganese and nickel. The challenge then is to find a way to source these materials that doesn't rely on Chinese supply chains, and won't lead to serious environmental harm.
Gerard Barron is the co-founder, CEO and chairman of The Metals Company, which trade...
Summary:
When your A/C breaks down in the middle of summer, you want someone at your house to fix it that same day. And one firm has been able to leverage that reliability into a national home services empire.
Ken Haines was appointed CEO of Wrench Group almost 10 years ago and he has since guided the company to become the second largest non-franchised home services company in the United States.
Ken joins us to discuss...
Investors often talk about the desire for companies to diversify. Well, you'd be hard pressed to find a firm who's done that better than the Superior Group of Companies (SGC), which operates in three distinct buckets: healthcare apparel, branded products and contact centres.
Our guest today is Michael Benstock, the Chairman and CEO of SGC. Michael takes us through the evolution of SGC since its founding more than a centur...
Summary:
At this point, most Americans will probably be familiar with the media company, Newsmax. Their political slant has garnered the company its fair share of criticism, but their growth in recent years has been undeniable.
Chris Ruddy is the CEO of Newsmax Media, which trades under the symbol NMAX. Chris began his career as a journalist at the New York Post and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review before founding Newsma...
Back in January, we had on Julie Masino, the President and CEO of Cracker Barrel, who walked us through her strategy for transforming the brand, and gave great insights into general trends in the restaurant industry. Since it's summer time, and patio season is in full swing, we thought now would be a good time to revisit this gem.
Summary:
What does it take to revitalize a legacy brand, while maintaining its identity? ...
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