Konaverse

Bertrand Lirette is Advisor, Customer Experience at iA Financial Group.  In this episode, Betrand discusses growing up in Quebec, family, travel, breakdancing, sales, teaching and research, service design, customer experience, community, and much more!

Spencer Tyler is Director of Customer Retention | Subscription Strategy at Investor's Business Daily.  In this episode, Spencer discusses growing up in the Northwest, Mercer Island, Seattle, the Grunge music era, family, movies, working in the commercials industry, producing music videos, bringing your passions into your professional life, user experience, storytelling, five years living in New York City, Los Angeles, Investor's Business Daily, customer success, comparing business leadership to movie production teams, and advice to his younger self. 

Ashish Garga is Regional Sales Director at Sharethrough.  In this episode, Ashish talks about a childhood spanning India, Singapore, Dubai, and Toronto, family, education, assimilation, learning, sports, career, sales, communications, mental health, movies, and much more.

Bill Sedgwick is President - Americas and Chief Development Officer at Ultra Commerce.  In this episode, Bill talks about a peripatetic childhood as part of a military family, lessons from living and traveling to different places, Denver, aspirations of being a businessman, Colorado State University, career progression, Hawaii, an immersive travel experience in Australia, teaching volleyball, sales in the early internet age, Mapquest, becoming an entrepreneur, Oregon and the outdoors, hobbies of fishing, paddleboarding, and agate hunting, work-life balance, PinnacleCart, Acquisition by Ultra Commerce, Phoenix, and much more!

Holly Keily, Ph.D. is Research and Analysis Department Manager at Toastmasters International.  In this episode, Holly talks about growing up in Denver, family, childhood interests, french language, international business, communications, Hawaii, Milwaukee, Buffalo, career, and Toastmasters.

George Chang is Director, Web Platforms at Hexagon AB and an 8x Sitecore MVP.  In this episode, Geoge talks about Taipei, Dallas, Atlanta, childhood interests, family, travel agencies, career, and a rich history with Sitecore.  

Shailvi Wakhlu is an accomplished data leader with 17+ years of experience in Fortune 500 companies and startups.  In this episode, Shailvi discusses growing up in India, childhood interests, swimming, education, moving to America, the quantified self, data science, and a career that has included stints at Strava, Komodo Health, Salesforce, Fitbit, Prezi, Monster, and more.  She also talks about enterpreneurship, investing, public speaking, and her process for writing a book.

Tony Frattaroli is a Senior Enterprise Account Executive at Pantheon Platform.  In this episode, Tony discusses growing up in Ireland, family, music, coming to America, sales leadership, living in Florida, moving back to England for his son's pursuits, and so much more!

Jake Compton is VP of Sales US and Bryan O'Fiesh is Partner Manager at Umbraco.  In this episode, Jake and Bryan talk growing up in North Carolina and Maryland respectively, childhood, education, career, sales, partnerships, Umbraco, and so much more!

Tom Kirkby is a GTM (Go-to-market) Leader with great experience in Sales, Partnerships, and RevOps.  Tom has worked with companies like Squiz, Sitecore, Avanade, and Microsoft.  In this episode, Tom talks about growing up in Chilliwack, British Columbia, family, early experiences with and building a passion for technology, navigating education, career, Seattle, moving into sales, Phoenix, his next moves, and so much more!

Rodrigo Peplau is Country Head in Brazil at Arke and a nine-time Sitecore MVP.  In this episode, Rodrigo talks about growing up in Florianópolis and Brazil, family, childhood interests, his career in metal music and technology, Sitecore, engaging with American culture, community, and so much more!

Preston So is Vice President, Product of dotCMS.  In this episode, Preston discusses growing up in the Mountain West region, cartography, his passion for language, school, Harvard, career, moving to the New York City area, writing, his hopes for his role at dotCMS, and much more!

Matteo Frana is Founder and Lead front-end at F2.net and ReactBricks.com.  In this episode, Matteo talks about Bergamo, Italy, growing up, family, his start with techology, the advent of the web, entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, and stories behind the founding of F2.net and React Bricks.

Mick McGurk is Interim Chief Information Officer at Toastmasters International.  In this episode, Mick discusses growing up in London, England, sports, photography, career, moving to America, Texas, leadership, technology, Toastmasters, and so much more!

Joel Varty is the Chief Technology Officer at Agility.  In this episode, Joel talks about growing up in Douro-Dummer, Ontario, living and working on a farm, music and playing guitar, The Canadian Football League, building a career in technology, Toronto, the Agility story, advice to his younger self, and much more!

Balaji Kandasamy is Practice Director at CEI, a 4x Sitecore MVP, a Digital Experience Community MVP, and Organizer of PGHSUG and PGHDOTNET.  In this episode, Bala discusses growing up in Tamil Nadu, schooling, childhood interests, family, running a 100-employee garment company as a young man, finding his place in technology, moving to America, San Diego, Pittsburgh, food reviewing, community, Sitecore, and so much more.

Brian McKeiver is Co-Owner at BizStream, a Microsoft Azure MVP, Kentico MVP, Kontent.ai MVP, Speaker, Podcast Host, and much more.  In this episode, Brian talks about growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, family, sports, the Detroit Lions, technology, the BizStream story, great partnerships, building a culture, exercise, selling SaaS, and so much more.

Bill Rogers is CEO and Co-founder of ai12z and has founded several companies, notably Ektron among them.  In this episode, Bill talks about growing up in Massachusetts, family, childhood interests, electrical engineering, and a life of startups and entrepreneurship, beginning with a firewood company as a youngster, and moving through hardware and software as an adult and in industries like healthcare and video conferencing solutions.   He breaks down how Ektron came to be and what it was like in the early days of the Content Management System. Lastly, he discusses his history with conversational AI and his future with next-generation AI.

Jason Cardillo is a Global Marketing Executive who has held such roles as Vice President Experience and Digital Marketing at Emplifi and Director Of Web Marketing at Sitecore.  In this episode, Jason talks about growing up in Upstate New York and Cleveland, Ohio, family, childhood interests, Elmira College, hockey, moving to California, career trajectory, marketing, Emplifi, Sitecore, and so much more.

Ben Haynes is the CEO & Co-Founder of Directus.  In this episode, Ben talks about growing up in Connecticut, family, entrepreneurship, military service, mergers and acquisitions, business leadership, the intersection of technology and design, personal pursuits and interests, and so much more!

Mickey Aharony is a Director of Content who has worked at Uniform, Cloudinary, among others.  In this episode, Mickey talks about growing up in Delaware, family, archaeological digs in Israel, traveling the world, business school, owning a moving company, living around America, entrepreneurship, content strategy, imposter syndrome, restlessness, and so much more!

Jesper Ravnsgaard is CEO & Founder of Copenhagen Mist ApS.  In this episode, Jesper talks about Copehagen, family, childhood interests, technology, entrepreneurship, Sitecore, and so much more!

Recorded in person and on location in Nashville, Tennessee on Day 2 of Kentico Connection 2023, we welcomed several members of Kentico's North American team, including new Chief Revenue Officer Bill Cunningham, Channel Growth Managers Dan Ardelan, Dean Mavrikos, and Andrew Aquilini, Senior Customer Success Manager Michael Hennessey, and Account Executive Brendan Maseda.  Stay tuned for more of our coverage of Kentico Connection 2023, including video interviews from Day 1!

Jenda Perla is VP Marketing at Kentico.  In this episode, Jenda discusses his name, growing up in Brno, journalism, politics, being a social media "maniac," digital marketing, community, leadership, technology, family, and so much more!

Petr Klouda is VP Global Sales at Kentico.  In this episode, Petr discusses growing up in Czech Republic, the shift from communism to capitalism, family, Northern Ireland, sales, doubt, Kentico, and so much more!

Debbie Tucek, PhD is Director of Product at Kentico.  In this episode, Debbie talks about growing up in Australia, childhood interests, education and learning, teaching, living and traveling the world, a career in product and technology, artificial intelligence (AI), working at Kentico, and so much more!

Sean Wright is Lead Product Evangelist at Kentico and Founding Partner of Craft Brewing Business.  In this episode, Sean talks about Akron, Ohio, living in the home he grew up in, LeBron James, family, entrepreneurship, remote work, mathematics, Kent State, diabetes, career trajectory, moving outside your comfort zone, starting and continuing to run a digital craft beer publication, the publication industry and content management systems, the beer industry, Kentico's MVP program, how he came to work at Kentico, digital Experience platform evangelism, and much more.

Christian Bach is the Co-founder/CSO at Netlify, Board Member at MACH Alliance, and angel investor.  In this episode, Christian talks about growing up in Copenhagen, family, childhood struggles with Asthma, creative pursuits, storytelling, digital strategy leadership, career trajectory, entrepreneurship, investing, co-founding Netlify, and so much more.

Malena Manterola is a Senior Software Engineer at Konabos.  In this episode, Male discusses growing up in Argentina, family, childhood interests, educational pursuits, finding her career in technology, community, and world travel, including her whirlwind past year working and traveling around Europe and North America.

Nishant Patel is CTO & Founder of Contenstack.  In this episode, Nishant talks about growing up in India, family, childhood hobbies, emigrating to Columbus, Ohio as a teenager, Ohio State University, calculators, entrepreneurship, moving to California, building a career in San Francisco, starting technology companies, Contentstack, and so much more! 

Lauren Johnston is Manager Strategic Partnerships at XTM International and a Growth Council Member at the MACH Alliance.  In this episode, Lauren talks about growing up, family, Liverpool, interest and hobbies, language and localization, travel, teaching English in Bogotá, Colombia, career, education, and so much more!

Rasmus Leth Skjoldan is Chief Evangelist at Magnolia.  In this episode, Rasmus talks about growing up, Copenhagen, Buffalo (NY), childhood interests, family, the creative process, business, technology, Apple, and so much more!

Paul Bratslavsky is a developer advocate at Strapi.  In this episode, Paul talks about growing up in Russia, family, moving to America, Connecticut, education, interests, parenthood, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, technology, Austin (Texas), Coding After Thirty, and so much more!

Dawn Bobeck is the Chief Executive Officer of Vintage Tub & Bath.  In this episode, Dawn talks about Northeast Pennsylvania, childhood, family, schooling, career, entrepreneurship, leadership, and so much more!

Bob Cotton is a Consultant and Executive Coach in the Technology industry.  In this episode, Bob talks about growing up in Great Yarmouth (UK), travel, education, University of Nottingham, International Business, BP, Supply Chain, Oracle, living in America, hobbies, and so much more.

Sheila Armitage, Ph.D. is Principal at Sheila Armitage: Wind Horse Journey.  In this episode, Sheila discusses growing up in England, family, education, law, moving to the United States and Austin, Texas, career, executive coaching, leadership, and so much more.

Dominik Pinter is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kentico.  In this in-person interview recorded in New Hampshire, Dominik talks about growing up in the Czech Republic, family, technology and entrepreneurship at an early age, education and schooling, his evolution with Kentico, the five years he stepped away from the company, leadership, and so much more!

Chris Byrne is the CEO of Sensorpro.  In this episode, Chris talks about growing up in Ireland in a big family, interests as a child, college, starting his career in America, returning to Ireland, entrepeneurship, sea swimming, Generative AI, and so much more!

Paul Abdool is Global Director of Partnerships at dotCMS.  In this episode, Paul discusses growing up in the Greater Toronto Area, Guyana, family, interests, career, the importance of relationships, and so much more.

Janel Joseph is Owner/Founder of JE Joseph Consulting and has worked for the likes of Apple and Dell.  In this episode, Janel discusses growing up in Colorado, family, education, interests, a career in Human Resources, psychology, executive coaching, and so much more!

Chris Bryce is CEO, Digital Foresight & Innovation, at Dotfusion.  In this episode, Chris talks about growing up in Canada, childhood interests, getting his start in technology, California, building a B-Corporation, hobbies, and so much more!

Justin Sanders is Vice President of Strategy at BlueModus.  In this episode, Justin discusses growing up in Mississippi, early political aspirations, entrepreneurship, sales, strategy, finding a career in technology, remote work, and so much more!

Casper Ninteman is VP Global Sales at Enonic.  In this episode, Casper talks about growing up in South Africa, The Netherlands, and Scotland, family, school in England, growing a career in technology sales, moving to Norway, buying a farmhouse built in 1789, managing a farm that goes back thirteen generations, and so much more.

Michael West is an Application Architect at Concentra and nine-time Sitecore MVP.  In this episode, Michael talks about growing up in La Porte, Texas, family, childhood interests, college at The University of Texas at Dallas, working at Blockbuster, finding a career in technology, Sitecore, parenthood, and so much more.

Alan Anderson is Transformation Strategy & Partner Alliances Lead at Kontent.ai.  In this episode, Alan talks about growing up in Northern Ireland, family, working in print, career in technology, digital transformation, parenting, community, and so much more.

Suresh Devanan is Founder & CEO of Nishtech.  In this episode, Suresh discusses growing up in India, family, education, interests, coming to America, Cincinnati, starting and sustaining a technology business, , Sitecore, and so much more.

Lasse Fredslund is Product Owner at Umbraco.  In this episode, Lasse talks about growing up in Denmark, military service, teaching, career in technology, music, entrepreneurship, parenting, community, and so much more.

Peter Navarra is Vice President, DXP Solutions at SearchStax.  In this episode, Pete talks about growing up in Indiana and Tennessee, family, interests, Oreo stacking contests, career, turmoil, moving to Boston, politics, mental health, and so much more.

Guillermo Rauch is the CEO and Founder of Vercel.  In this episode, Guillermo discusses growing up around Buenos Aires, Argentina, family, childhood, business and technology in his teenage years, entrepreneurship, community, San Francisco, advice to entrepreneurs and his younger self, and so much more!

Carrie Hane is Principal Evangelist at Sanity.io.  In this episode, Carrie talks about growing up in Dearborn, Michigan, family, childhood interests, college, swimming, politics, Washington, D.C., a career in content management and operations, and so much more.

Kimberly McCabe is Senior Director, Solutions at Icreon.  In this episode, Kimberly talks about the unbelievable tale of her upbringing, including adoption, her Indigenous Canadian mother, and a Canadian policy called the "Sixties Scoop," where indigenous children were taken and given to Christan families from the 1950s to 1980s.  Kimberly recounts her life growing up in Toronto, how she found her way into a marketing and technology career, moving around the world, coming to grips with her past, and becoming a mother herself.