News
Innovation Showcase
Innovation Showcase to connect emerging companies with investors Companies with venture capital, private equity, corporate venture/M&A firms, family office investors and others from across the country are set to make their pitch at the Tech Titans Innovation Showcase on Wednesday, May 25 at UT Dallas. The purpose of the showcase is to facilitate investments and business opportunities to help take these technology companies to the next level of growth. The showcase will be held in the UT Dallas Jindal
News Release
Tech Titans board elects two new directors Justin Caskey, the CFO for workplace communications solutions company Korbyt, and Brian Walsh, the Chief Lending officer at Sunflower Bank, were recently elected by the board to the Tech Titans Board of Directors. Justin has been with Korbyt since 2013. A passion for driving growth while improving operational efficiency, Justin brings over 12 years of experience, including mergers and acquisitions, and capital raising expertise to drive the company?s financial
News Release: STEM
Lewisville ISD placing STEM-focused interns in summer jobs Need an intern to help your business get through the busy summer months? The Lewisville Independent School District, one of the partners in the Tech Titans STEM Initiative, may have the perfect match for your company. Two to three students who have an interest in STEM related careers will be hired by LISD and then sent out to work at the partner business. Hours are flexible for six weeks of work, 15 hours a week at $12 an hour. Businesses may put
News Release: UTDesign
UT Design set to host worldwide Capstone Design Conference The University of Texas at Dallas campus will be buzzing from Jun 6 - 9 with students and faculty from over 150 universities around the world competing in the annual Capstone Design Conference. Twenty of the university teams are selected to compete for the top design project by Bachelor of Science engineering seniors. Students will compete in several different areas of expertise with judges awarding 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. UT Dallas Capstone
News Release: Forums Re Launch
Tech Titans set to launch re-designed forums this summer The Tech Titans forums, a mainstay of small-group programming since 2014, are re-launching this summer. The re-design is part of a six month long effort by a taskforce of current forums tri-chairs to provide more trending programs. The new line-up includes: Cybersecurity Blockchain Entrepreneurial and Emerging Growth Health Tech Industry 4.0 Labor Market Strategies Social Transformation Artificial Intelligence, Analytics and Insights and the IoT
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Tech Titans of the Future Honored
Tech Titans recently honored the recipients of the 2021 Tech Titans of the Future awards with a presentation of their trophy and the cash award that goes with winning this extraordinary awards gala category. The awards were announced at the annual gala, which was moved to January 19 amid concerns about gatherings during the pandemic. Morris Goldade, a robotics teacher at Wylie High School, is the recipient of the Tech Titans of the Future High School Level award for his hands-on approach to teaching
Champions Circle Featured Member
Tech Titans is beginning an occasional new feature in the newsletter to highlight a Champions Circle level company. The April featured member is The Principal Financial Network. The Principal is a global financial company with 18,500 employees worldwide that are passionate about improving the wealth and well-being of people and businesses. In business for more than 140 years, the company is helping more than 51 million customers plan, insure, invest, and retire, while working to support the communities
Paul Bendel named Interim Executive Director
Paul Bendel, senior vice president, programs and events, will assume additional duties as interim executive director of Tech Titans. Bendel currently leads the programs and events areas for Tech Titans including the annual Tech Titans Awards Gala, Tech Industry Luncheons, Tech Titans Golf Tournament and Tech Forums. He has been with the organization since 2003 and has been involved with extensive growth and development during his tenure. Prior to that, he held leadership positions at the Greater Irving Las
Tech Titans Names Jean Bono as STEM Executive Director
Tech Titans® is pleased to appoint Jean Krone Bono as director of STEM initiatives for the organization. In her new capacity, Bono will be responsible for expanding the number and diversity of local students in the Science, Technology, Education and Math educational pipeline while increasing the quality of their learning to produce the talent to sustain the North Texas high-tech economy. She will work with local school districts, institutions of higher education, and technology companies to promote STEM
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Nominations open for 2022 Tech Titans awards
Nominations are open for the annual Tech Titans awards, with nominations due July 25 and in-person event Thursday, Oct. 20.The Tech Titans Awards Gala is the single-most prestigious event honoring North Texas companies and individuals that leverage technology in extraordinary ways. The gala celebrates the creators, innovators and adopters alike—companies of all sizes, executives, individual employees, investors and teachers. Basically, the best of the best. This is your chance to salute the most innovative
Tech Titans accepts resignation of President Bill Sproull
The executive committees of the Richardson Chamber of Commerce and Tech Titans have accepted the resignation of Bill Sproull, president and CEO of both organizations, effective immediately. Sproull is leaving after 17 years with the chamber, Tech Titans and Richardson Economic Development Partnership to pursue other opportunities. “This was a good time to move on given the Chamber’s recent success in achieving a third 5-star accreditation and Tech Titans’ successful production of its 21st annual Awards
Fastest growing mid-size tech companies ranked; top with 1848% growth
Fast Tech honors the fastest growing technology companies in North Texas based on three-year revenue growth. This ranking is compiled from nominations submitted directly to Tech Titans, and independent research using publicly available information conducted by Moss Adams and Comerica Bank.The final rankings were announced during the Tech Titans Awards Gala on Wednesday, Jan. 19.The top growing company was Cysiv, Partha Panda, CEO & co-founder, with 1848% growth from 2018-2020.Cysiv security operations
Tech Titans selected as partner in $10 million grant for accelerating Latinx in STEM
Grant to develop national network of organizations focused on mobilizing large-scale change for underrepresented communities in STEM Tech Titans® has been selected by Arizona State University (ASU) to receive a portion of a $10 million National Science Foundation (NSF) Accelerate Latinx Representation in STEM Education (ALRISE) Alliance grant. ASU selected multiple technology trade associations across the country, including Tech Titans as grant recipients to help mobilize their in-industry membership to
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Winners of 21st Tech Titans Awards
TECH TITANS CELEBRATES NORTH TEXAS’ BEST AND BRIGHTEST AT ANNUAL AWARDS GALA 15 companies, organizations and individuals honored for significant contributions to their industries Tech Titans, the largest technology trade organization in Texas, recognized outstanding technology companies and individuals in the North Texas area who have made significant contributions to their industries at its annual awards gala at the Eisemann Center for Performing Arts on Wednesday, Jan. 19 with a theme of “New Year,
Award: Corporate CEO Randy Pitchford from Gearbox Entertainment
Under the leadership of Randy Pitchford, Gearbox is a Frisco-based, award-winning, independent developer and publisher of interactive entertainment. It was founded in 1999 by Randy and four other game industry veterans, and its first release was “Half-Life: Opposing Force.” Since then, the company has become known for developing successful game franchises, including “Borderlands,” “Brothers in Arms,” and “Battleborn,” as well as working with other developers to publish hit titles like “Fortnite.” Across
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Awards: Hall of Fame recipient Dave Matthews, RevTech Ventures
David Matthews’ guru mantra is simple: share experience, not advice. That mantra has served him well, allowing him to help launch more than 50 emerging retail technology innovators. David is Tech Titans®’ newest Hall of Fame inductee. As the founder of RevTech Ventures, a venture capital firm in North Texas that invests in the technologies and concepts driving the future of retail, David has shaped countless young entrepreneurs. More importantly, David supports local fast-growing startups like Pressed
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Fast Tech top five companies announced for upcoming Awards
Fast Tech honors the fastest growing technology companies in North Texas based on three-year revenue growth and is part of the Tech Titans Awards Gala. The ranking is compiled from nominations submitted directly to Tech Titans and Moss Adams, also sponsored by Comerica Bank. The ranking of the fastest growing companies will be announced at the Tech Titans Awards Gala on Wednesday, Jan. 19. In its 21st year, the Fast Tech Award honors the fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life
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Grand Challenge in edge computing selects BALANCED for $20K award
Tech Titans® Grand Challenge in edge computing selects Balanced | Media Technology for $20K award Before you yell at your teenager for staying up all night playing World of Warcraft, think twice. Your gamer may be helping cure a disease.Dr. Corey Clark and his team at BALANCED | Media Technology(BALANCED), have found a way to harness the power of humans and their computers doing regular things, like playing a game, to solve some of the world’s most complex problems. In addition to being chief technology
Member profile: Principal Financial
Member profile: Principal Financial Network Principal Financial Network was founded in 1879 as an insurance company. Today, the company is a member of the Fortune 500 and a global investment management leader. Principal is a global financial company with 18,000 employees passionate about improving the wealth and well-being of people and businesses. In business for more than 140 years, the company has helped more than 45.5 million customers plan, insure, invest, and retire, while working to support
Member spotlight: Qentelli
Having worked in the technology world for all their careers until then, Sanjay Jupudi and Prasanna Singaraju were bogged down by the fact that investors-controlled, top-line focused management killed innovation in pursuit of revenue targets. Value delivery was lost in the fine print of statements of work made for customers and giving back to the community was a myth. They said – there must be a better way of doing this. Let's build a company that is focused on profit with a purpose. The idea was to
Member profile: Red Hat
Red Hat Inc. began when a small businessman met a geek at a tech conference. Marc Ewing was the technologist busy hacking, debugging, and spinning his own distribution of Linux® on CDs from his home in Raleigh, North Carolina.The name Red Hat came from Ewing’s experience in his college computer lab. He would wear his grandfather’s red Cornell lacrosse cap, and people would say, “If you need help, look for the guy in the red hat.” When Ewing started distributing his own curated version of Linux, he chose Red
Tech Titans names fastest growing tech companies in North Texas
Tech Titans® has named its list of the 20 fastest growing tech companies in North Texas. Fast Tech honors the fastest growing technology companies in North Texas based on three-year revenue growth and is part of the Tech Titans Awards Gala. The ranking is compiled from nominations submitted directly to Tech Titans and Moss Adams, also sponsored by Comerica Bank. The top five fastest growing companies will be announced in January, with the ranking of the fastest growing companies announced at the Tech
Tech Titans® Tech Talent Hub connects job seekers with members
Every employer wants the elusive unicorn: a well-qualified employee who can jump in and make a difference today. And every potential employee wants the same: a great company that encourages knowledgeable, innovative, important work.Tech Titans Talent Hub is a unique, specialized job listing service for top-level members. It automatically pulls listings from member websites so future employees can search for openings in the best North Texas technology companies. Filters are for tech listings in North Texas
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Welcome new Tech Titans members
Thank you to the Tech Titans members who either joined or renewed their memberships in June - September. Our members are the lifeline of our organization and serve to make us stronger and more successful. We hope you will join us in welcoming these new members, doing business with them and referring other members to the Tech Titans organization. See below the chart for more information about our new members. Champion's Circle Member nameCityWebsite PGA of America http://pga.com TwilioSan
Member spotlight: PGA of America
PGA of America is 105 years old, yet its approach to technology and digital products is progressive. The company operates 100% in the cloud (AWS and Google), zero trust, Yubikeys, no corporate network, no data centers, no VPNs, and no Active Directory across its 50 office locations. Even its use of Workday is unconventional. Tech at major golf tournaments only lasts a few weeks before moving on to the next event, but includes scoring, data feeds for TV / digital, public wifi, miles of fiber, private LTE,
Edge Grand Challenge gives entrepreneurs connection to enterprise innovators
Entrepreneurs designing solutions using edge technology can get feedback, recognition and $20K from Tech Titans and enterprise companies on the cutting edge. In this year’s annual Grand Challenge, entrepreneurs submit an application which will be judged by representatives of technology companies, and finalists will be showcased for a live/virtual pitch in front of a panel of celebrity judges. Last year's celebrity judges included entrepreneur Mark Cuban, Dallas Cowboys CMO Charlotte Jones, and AT&T Consumer
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New members, spring
Thank you to the Tech Titans members who either joined or renewed their memberships in March, April and May. Our members are the lifeline of our organization and serve to make us stronger and more successful. We hope you will join us in welcoming these new members, doing business with them and referring other members to the Tech Titans organization. New members Champion's Circle Sunflower BankDallashttp://www.sunflowerbank.com Member nameCityWebsiteYearsConsultNetSalt Lake
Member profile: Commscope
https://www.commscope.com/ Now meets next CommScope is a global provider of essential infrastructure solutions for wireless, business enterprise and residential broadband networks. Its headquarters are in Hickroy, N.C. Its solutions and services for wired and wireless networks enable high-bandwidth data, video and voice applications. CommScope’s global position is built upon innovative technology, broad solution offerings, high-quality and cost-effective customer solutions and global manufacturing and
Member profile: Sunflower Bank
Sunflower Bank is a large financial institution that encourages its employees to give back to local communities. Sunflower Bank was founded in 1892. It operates as First National 1870 in New Mexico and El Paso to honor roots dating to 1870. Additionally, Guardian Mortgage, the residential mortgage division, has helped generations of valued customers realize their dreams of homeownership. Today, with approximately $5 billion in assets, the bank is headquartered in Denver, and provides a full range of
Appian helping intelligent automation course at UT Dallas
The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) is using the Appian Low-code Automation Platform for a new curriculum course on intelligent automation for the 2021/2022 academic year.Tech Titans member Appian helps organizations build apps and workflows rapidly, with a low-code automation platform. Combining people, technologies and data in a single workflow, Appian helps companies maximize their resources and improve business results.The course, led by assistant professor Gaurav Shekhar in the UTD Naveen Jindal
Tech Titans connects students to STEM career futures, virtually
By Melinda Guravich, staff writer The Tech Titans® STEM Workforce Initiative has delivered 15,000 inspirational experiences to students since its inception, through career panels, speed mentoring, STEM camps, facility tours and other face-to-face events. Last spring, dozens of scheduled events suddenly evaporated from school calendars in the wake of the pandemic shut down. The technology association’s Talent Team was determined to continue inspiring high school and middle school students to pursue STEM
Mobile app puts member access at your fingertips
Your member access at your fingertips Our online database has a mobile app that members can use to access the Member Information Center—the directory, register for events, update your profile. To access the mobile app, go through your iOS or Google Play store. It’s called MemberPlus. Once you download it, you can log on using your regular credentials. There’s a ‘forgot your login’ in the app if you’ve forgotten your log in. If you’ve never received a log in to the Tech Titans system,
#Tech Tuesdays is your connection to localized tech insights
Though you can’t contain technology to one day a week, at least you can count on learning something new from Tech Titans every Tuesday during Tech Tuesdays. The first event will be the Virtual Expo!, sponsored by Fujitsu. The keynote speakers will be Ed Kelly, Chief Data Officer for the State of Texas, and Laila Alequresh, Chief Innovation Officer for the City of Dallas. Tech Insights, the Tech Titans weekly compilation of news stories, is moving to every Tuesday. If you don’t already subscribe, sign up
5G Grand Challenge top choice brings artificial intelligence to the classroom through virtual reality
5G Grand Challenge top choice brings artificial intelligence to the classroom through virtual reality Marjorie Zielke, Ph.D., director of the UT Dallas Center for Simulation and Synthetic Humans, is the choice of the Tech Titans inaugural 5G Grand Challenge with her proposed creation of the Emergent Virtual Teacher Platform (EVTP). The program uses sensor capture and Internet of Things (IoT) data and connectivity, low latency, security and speed aspects of 5G to deliver virtual teachers in virtual reality
UT Dallas knows STEM-love starts before the university level
by Melinda Guravich, staff writer “I cannot tell you how energized I am every time high school students come to the UTDesign Makerspace studio for a Tech Titans workshop, and every time I talk to kids about STEM careers,” said Rod Wetterskog, assistant dean of corporate relations for UT Dallas. Tech Titans’ STEM partnership with the Tier One university is essential to the success of the STEM initiative. Rod, an “engineering physics guy” by training and six-year member of the Talent Team, has hosted
Volunteering at every career and life stage, even during a pandemic
by Melinda Guravich, STEM writer Lynn Mortensen is passionate about getting kids engaged with STEM. “If we don’t show them what they can be, especially girls and minority children, they often don’t have a clue.” While vice president of engineering at Raytheon, Lynn served as the company’s Tech Titans corporate representative. At retirement, she joined the newly formed STEM committee, committing her time and energy to inspiring a new generation of engineers from diverse backgrounds. She was recognized as
The Talent Team strikes back: STEM inspirations go digital
by Melinda Guravich, Tech Titans contributor Dave Galley, director of the STEM workforce initiatives for Tech Titans, was looking forward to the Talent Team’s biggest year yet in 2020: more events scheduled, in more schools for more kids and the launch of new events, all powered by a growing volunteer base and committed corporate sponsors. By the first week of March, volunteers had already logged a thousand-plus STEM inspirations for the year, for a total of nearly 15,000 since the initiative began.
Mitel employees serve up STEM inspiration
Written by Melinda Guravich Mitel employees around the world recently celebrated the company’s 46th anniversary by giving back on Mitel Serves Day. Employees from the company’s Plano headquarters spent the day providing STEM career inspiration–and pizza–during a Tech Titans panel presentation for 132 middle and high school students attending a STEM Coding camp at UT Dallas. Led by president and CEO Rich McBee, Mitel was the first corporate investor in the Tech Titans STEM workforce initiative. “We owe our
Talent Team wraps school year with hands-on, engineering design challenge
The last week of school was particularly busy for volunteers in the Tech Titans STEM workforce initiative. They delivered “Can You Float Your Boat,” a hands-on, engineering design challenge to approximately 200 sixth- and rising-fifth graders at three RISD elementary schools. The “Can You Float Your Boat” event starts with a conversation about what an engineer does. The volunteers talk about their own engineering careers with obvious enthusiasm and in relatable terms. Lynn Mortenson, who retired as a
Talent Team helps students donate equipment to developing countries
Fifty Richardson ISD (RISD) students participated in a Talent Team workshop hosted by the UTDesign Makerspace. Juniors and seniors from Buckner High School and J.J. Pearce High School spent the day-long STEM education experience touring the UTDesign Studio, talking with engineering students, participating in a design workshop and assembling heart monitor kits that will be used for training in developing countries. (photos by Shirley Wilson, Mitel)The event was sponsored by State Farm Enterprise Technology.
Speed mentoring: face-to-face engagement with students
Have you been inside a high school recently? Fifty professionals from Samsung have. They spent their Employee Volunteer Day participating in Tech Titans speed mentoring events at three area high schools.How it works Speed mentoring is an intimate, small-group experience where students talk face-to-face with employees working in the technology sector. Volunteers meet with juniors and seniors to explain their jobs and talk about what it takes to work in specific roles. Students ask questions about what it’s
Tech Titans creates hands-on activities during SMARTgirls STEM Camp
Tech Titans and Qorvo sponsored three days of SMARTgirls summer camp at Davis Intermediate in Wylie during the summer. The focus of the week-long camp was building awareness of STEM opportunities and careers among rising fifth, sixth and seventh grade girls. Thanks to the talent of several Tech Titans volunteers and the generous sponsorship of Qorvo, 29 girls learned about aerospace engineering, robotics, coding, electrical engineering and engineering design principles through presentations, exercises and
Wylie camp encourages girls to pursue STEM careers
Tech Titans recently hosted a STEM camp sponsored by the Wylie ISD Foundation and Girls in Tech, which included activities and tours at Qorvo’s Richardson plant. The four-day camp was created to get young girls excited about STEM. “The highlight of the camp for me was watching the girls in the activities and realizing they have what it takes to solve a real-world problem,” said Lymari Ames, volunteer and project manager at Cisco Systems. Students spent three days learning about various STEM fields by
Tech Titans Hall of Fame inductee announced
Digital telecom giant Jim Donald selected as 2014 inductee to Tech Titans Hall of Fame James (Jim) Lee Donald has been selected as The Metroplex Technology Business Council’s 2014 inductee to the MTBC Tech Titans Hall of Fame. This honor recognizes a technology visionary from the DFW Metroplex for outstanding leadership in assisting, advancing and accelerating the performance of the technology industry and/or adoption of technology in North Texas. These accomplishments must span more than one decade and
