Cool Person of the Day

Early each year, the tech world gets turned upside down by corporate shake-ups.  It seems that most businesses in the tech sector wait for the early statistics to come in about the fourth quarter before they change their corporate leaders.  One of the signs of a strong, stable business is that the business will not change many (or any) of its executives.  In 2012, Google made only one addition to its Board of Directors and it was Diane B. Greene who joined the Board! Read more »

One of the most vital and important industries within the tech sector is the energy industry.  As the world looks for alternative energy sources to end the dependence upon oil and companies try to win over conscientious consumers by reducing their carbon footprint, the solutions the energy industry comes up with are increasingly important.  Maxwell Technologies is one of the energy industry’s stalwarts, with an extensive portion of the company devoted to research and development.  Keeping that level of pure science funded and the company profitable is the work of Kevin S. Royal. Read more »

In the tech sector, every major company that has a Board of Directors uses different criteria to choose who will serve on the Board.  Even so, there are some similarities in how the various Boards are assembled.  The Boards of Directors of the most successful companies in the tech sector tend to feature Directors who might not be intimately tied to the tech sector.  Successful companies like Microsoft utilize a wide range of knowledge and experience on their Board of Directors.  Maria M. Klawe is one of the diverse voices that helps to guide Microsoft’s Board of Directors. Read more »

With so many incredible products and services that may easily be found on the Internet, it is amazing that there is still room for innovation there.  Yet, every year entrepreneurs come up with brand new ways to utilize the Internet.  Those entrepreneurs are clever, imaginative people; the successful ones find a niche that has been neglected before they pioneer the new product or service.  Perhaps that level of imagination explains why so many entrepreneurs in the tech sector are so young!  Youth and imagination are characteristics Furqan Rydhan benefitted from when he became CEO of LiveServe Technologies, Inc. Read more »

Happy (Belated) Secretary’s Day!  Despite the fact that it seems to be cliché to acknowledge it, no executive achieves success on their own.  Executives may be leaders and visionaries, but their success would not be possible without the team they assemble.  Most leaders in the tech sector and the business world in general are aided by an executive assistant who helps organize their plans, schedules and serves as a gatekeeper to those who want access to the executive.  One of the most interesting executive assistants in the tech sector today is Veronica Acuna. Read more »

If “people who need people are the luckiest people,” what does it make people who need to find out all they can about people?  Perhaps a better question would be, what does it make people who make the tools for people to find out about other people?  Perhaps that question could be best answered by Saad Zniber, co-founder of Yatedo. Read more »

Those who use Amazon.com’s Amazon Prime service for streaming videos have had a good few months recently.  The Amazon.com library of available videos has only been growing in recent months.  While Steven Kessel, the company’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Digital Media, deserves a lot of credit for the arrangements that provide users with more and more digital video files, there is an unsung hero of Amazon who deserves equal praise.  No matter what arrangements Kessel makes, no relationship between Amazon.com and production studios or distribution companies is complete until is passes muster with L. Michelle Wilson! Read more »

There are few entrepreneurs, even in the tech sector, who have the ability to create a hit product with every one of their major releases.  Mike Harrington, creator of Half-Life and Picnik, is one such innovator.  Interestingly enough, Harrington’s partner in co-founding Picnik, Darrin Massena, also has had an uncommon number of successful ventures, especially for his young age. Read more »

Sometimes, new technologies require additional interactions with the company that produces them.  For mundane issues, virtually every company has a customer service department.  But for complex products, many companies have a department that focuses on the user experience with the product and they develop services that better meet the needs of customers utilizing their equipment.  In the case of Avid Technology, which makes quality audio and video production equipment, there is a Customer Success Department.  That department is headed by Jodi Sweeney! Read more »

In the business world, there is no substitute for experience.  The established companies in the tech sector that have the staying power in the market invariably have management that is mature, guided by a wide range of experienced personnel.  Some of the most successful Boards of Directors make a point of including Directors whose perspective promotes creativity or alternative perspectives from those of other senior managers.  For Lenovo, the Board of Directors includes the wise voice of experience that comes from Professor Woo Chai-Wei. Read more »