Heather Brunner, CEO of WP Engine: Career Paths, Leadership, and Austin’s Momentum
Release Date: 05/21/2025
The Future of Work with Tom Alexander
Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!
In this episode of Austin Tech Connect, Thom Singer sits down with Tom Alexander, co-founder and CEO of Holistic, for a candid conversation about the future of work and what a great employee experience really looks like. Tom shares lessons from working in Chicago's tech scene at "1871" and the mayor’s office, and explains why many executives say people are their most important asset yet lack the language and systems to manage the people experience with the same rigor as revenue. They dig into the pendulum swings in today’s workplace, the role of DEI as an integrated part of culture rather...
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Like Clockwork with Sam Goodner
Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!
Austin Tech Connect is sponsored by Calavista Software: Software Development without the Drama. In this episode of Austin Tech Connect, Thom Singers sits down with long-time friend and Austin tech leader, Sam Goodner. Sam arrived in Austin in 1992 after growing up in Europe and serving in the Swiss Army Special Forces. He cut his teeth at Dell, then co-founded what became Catapult Systems. Along the way he helped launch product companies like Inquisite, guided Catapult to be Microsoft’s top global partner, and sold the firm in 2013. After a family year of world travel, he returned to scale a...
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Barriers to Bridges, Building an Inclusive Austin Tech Ecosystem with Michael Ward Jr.
Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!
In this episode of Austin Tech Connect, the official podcast of the Austin Technology Council, Thom sits down with returning guest Michael Ward Jr., the social entrepreneur behind Universal Tech Movement. Formerly known as Austin Urban Tech Movement, UTM is an EdTech nonprofit on a mission to connect communities to the tech industry through workforce readiness, innovation, and economic advancement. Michael shares how his own journey into tech began with a simple nudge from a recruiter, and how that spark fuels his commitment to help more people discover meaningful careers in technology. The...
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The Age of Abundance for All with Brett Hurt
Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!
In this episode of Austin Tech Connect, host Thom Singer welcomes back Brett Hurt, one of Austin’s most recognized serial entrepreneurs. Brett first appeared on the show in December 2022, and now returns following the recent sale of his company, Data.World, to ServiceNow. Known for his lifelong dedication to technology and community, Brett shares candid insights into the journey that brought him here and the bold vision that is now guiding his next chapter. Brett reflects on the timing of the acquisition, ServiceNow’s ambitions in enterprise AI, and why Data.World’s knowledge graph and...
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The Power of the Pivot: Product Management Across Industries with Carlisha Robinson
Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!
In this episode of Austin Tech Connect, Thom Singer sits down with Carlisha Robinson, a seasoned product leader, consultant, and longtime Austinite whose career journey mirrors the rise of Austin’s technology ecosystem. Carlisha describes herself as a “serial product manager,” but her story reveals so much more... she is a connector, a problem solver, and a mentor who has played a pivotal role in shaping companies through decades of change. Carlisha’s path began at Grambling State University in Louisiana, where she earned her degree in computer science before joining IBM in the early...
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Camp Enterprise - a program from the Rotary Club of Austin
Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!
This episode of Austin Tech Connect dives into one of the city’s most impactful youth programs: Camp Enterprise, a Rotary Club of Austin initiative that has been shaping young entrepreneurs for more than four decades. Hosted each February, Camp Enterprise brings together high school juniors from across Central Texas for an immersive, three-day experience focused on building real-world business skills. Our guests, Rick Rowell and Gaines Bagby, share how the program works and why it continues to have such a lasting influence. Students are placed into teams, assigned key leadership roles like...
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Responsible AI Implementation with Bonnie Caver
Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!
This Week's Guest: Bonnie Caver, Founder of Reputation Lighthouse In this episode, Thom Singer welcomes Bonnie Caver, a respected communications strategist and longtime Austin tech leader, to explore the topic of responsible AI implementation. With decades of experience in reputation management, change strategy, and executive leadership support, Bonnie shares how AI is reshaping the way organizations operate... and why the smartest companies are approaching implementation with caution, clarity, and care. Bonnie traces her career path from college athletics and Special Olympics Texas to...
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Unlocking The Oceans and Blue Tech with Joe Wolfel, CEO of Terradepth
Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!
In this episode of Austin Tech Connect, Thom Singer sits down with Joe Wolfel, CEO of Terradepth and former Navy SEAL, to explore the intersection of military discipline, ocean technology, and entrepreneurship. Joe shares his journey from leading special operations missions to building one of the most innovative ocean data companies in the world... right here in Austin, Texas. Joe opens up about the founding of Terradepth and its mission to create a “Google Earth for the oceans.” Teradepth is pioneering ocean transparency through autonomous robotics, real-time data collection, and...
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Space Workforce Incubator for Texas
Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!
The Future of Space Is in Texas: Workforce, Rockets, and Real Opportunity; In this episode of Austin Tech Connect, Thom Singer sits down with Leon Vanstone and Geoff Tudor from SWIFT (Space Workforce Incubator for Texas) for a deep dive into one of the state’s most ambitious frontiers: the space economy. With over 2,000 space and aerospace companies and more than 135,000 people already employed across the state, Texas is positioned to lead. But there’s a challenge: to keep up with demand, the space industry needs to scale its workforce dramatically... and that means going beyond...
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From Hustle to High-Growth with Cyril Allgeier
Austin Tech Connect: The Podcast For The Austin Technology Ecosystem, Business Leaders, and Tech Entrepreneurs!
In this engaging episode of Austin Tech Connect, Thom Singer sits down with Cyril Allgeier, Co-Founder and CRO of CodingIT, for a fast-moving and wide-ranging conversation that weaves together personal grit, entrepreneurial insight, and big ideas for Austin’s tech future. Cyril shares his unique path from hospitality and car sales to leading a software development firm... and why being “the fool in the room” is sometimes the smartest move a founder can make. You’ll hear how he went from managing vending machine contracts at Halliburton to training enterprise car sales reps, eventually...
info_outlineHeather Brunner, CEO of WP Engine, joins this week’s episode of Austin Tech Connect. In this insightful conversation, Heather shares her remarkable career journey and the continued growth and innovation happening at WP Engine. She and host Thom Singer dive into a candid discussion about the Austin tech ecosystem—highlighting the strength, momentum, and close-knit nature of the community. They address recent media portrayals of Austin’s tech scene and offer a grounded perspective on the real story: Austin is thriving, evolving, and more connected than ever.