News
Tech Luncheon Features Former CTO
The identification of nine tech trends for 2022 were woven into an informative and educational story on the evolution of the CTO at the June 17 monthly Tech Industry luncheon. Former NTTData CTO and current guest lecturer at UT Dallas, Kris Fitzgerald, told the audience the trends haven’t changed that much over the past five years, but some form of AI has crept into the application and has now become a key focal point for companies, especially CTOs. Fitzgerald identified the trends as 5G,
Champion Circle Member June Spotlight
KPS Global® is the leader in providing innovative cold storage solutions. KPS Global designs, manufactures and installs insulated panel systems for retail, scientific and industrial markets. The company’s expert in-house designers, engineers, and research and development team work together to provide customized and adaptable solutions for customers. With over 75 years of experience, KPS global is a trusted solution in the industry. KPS Global thinks outside the box when it comes to the technology of
Board elects new members
The Tech Tians Board of Directors elected Brad Bonin of Cisco, Todd Gaske of Red Hat, and Sirisha Ghanta of TrinTech to the board at their June meeting. Brad Bonin is Cisco’s VP, System Engineering, Global Collaboration Sales where he leads a 550-plus member team with $5 billion in sales. He leads Cisco’s Webex Application Integration and the 3rd Party Ecosystem team. He is also responsible for the Webex Developer API team, engineering center of excellence, the Agile software development team building
Tech Titans Awards Gala Set for October 27
Tech Titans will celebrate excellence in the North Texas tech industry at the 2022 Awards Gala to be held on October 27 at the Eisemann Center in Richardson. Fifteen awards will be presented that highlight the accomplishments of the innovators, adopters, educators and leaders that are transforming the high-tech industry and the world in which we live. The theme of this year’s gala is Building Community that will draw upon the experiences of the nominees and a desire for everyone to re-engage after
Innovation Showcase spotlights start-up companies
High Quality! Innovative! Outstanding! Those were some of the words expressed by many of the 50 people who attended the first Tech Titans Innovation Showcase held on May 25, the first showcase since 2019. The showcase was presented in the Executive Dining Room of the Jindal School of Management at the University of Texas at Dallas. The half-day showcase opened with a compelling discussion about trends in innovation in North Texas. Dr Joe Pancrazio, the Vice President of Research and Innovation at UT
Champion Circle Member Profile
Build a better tomorrow, today! For 180 years, Wolters Kluwer has been innovating the way professionals and businesses work. Supporting software solutions and professional information for the Health, Tax & Accounting, Compliance and Legal industries, our technology is as diverse as our 19,000 worldwide employees. We are a technology-led global software and services company. Our success has been built upon smart thinking, deep software technology and domain expertise, and listening to and collaborating
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
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
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
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.
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
