TechFocus Member Spotlight Podcast

In partnership with Michael Beach Consulting, TechFocus Member Spotlight Podcast highlights Arizona’s growing prominence as a world-class tech hub. Each podcast episode features innovative entrepreneurs, transformative leaders and tech titans who are reshaping the state’s evolving tech ecosystem in existing and emerging sectors. Moderated by Linda Drake, a seasoned Leadership Coach and Business Consultant with Michael Beach Consulting. Interested in spotlighting your company or being a sponsor? Contact [email protected].

TechFocus Episode 29: Susan Dumon SVP of Strategy, Sun Corridor 03/11/2024

TechFocus Episode 29: Susan Dumon SVP of Strategy, Sun Corridor Susan Dumon - As Senior Vice President of Strategy, Susan is responsible for leading strategic initiatives around competitiveness that align with Sun Corridor Inc.’s mission to drive transformative economic development in the Tucson and Southern Arizona region. Susan has nearly 20 years of experience in economic development in Arizona, working at the state, regional, and local levels. Susan has extensive experience in all aspects of economic development, including, business attraction and marketing, business retention and expansion, workforce development, and redevelopment and reuse. Susan has provided site selection assistance and market analysis for companies considering expansion or relocation opportunities in metro Tucson and Southern Arizona. She has also worked with existing companies to help them grow their presence in the region. Prior to moving to Tucson, Susan spent ten years leading economic development programs and projects at the City of Phoenix. She has assisted companies that have created more than 25,000 jobs and invested nearly $2 billion in capital in Arizona. Susan is a graduate of DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, and she holds a Master of Public Administration from Baruch College, City University of New York. She is an alumna of the National Urban Fellows Program, a national public-sector leadership program. Currently, Susan serves on the Pima Community College Foundation board and the Southern Arizona Workforce Leadership Advisory Council. She lives in Tucson with her husband, Dave, daughter, Maryn, and dogs, Indy and Kaboom. Sun Corridor Inc. is a transformative economic development organization in Southern Arizona that represents one of the most dynamic and growing regions in North America. Located in Tucson, Sun Corridor Inc. is a CEO-driven regional alliance whose members aggressively champion mega-regional issues that impact economic competitiveness and quality of life. The organization has helped to drive significant business investment into the Tucson and Southern Arizona region through working with companies that have created thousands of jobs and billions in capital investment that have resulted in an economic impact of more than $36 billion in the last 20 years. /episode/index/show/aztec/id/30272743

The Spirit of learning and our instinctive curiosity is what fuels innovation and drives our organization forward… 12/04/2023

AZTC Douglas Hockstad 11/07/2023

Hear how Slalom Phoenix is advancing the Valley of the Sun... 09/19/2023

Are you struggling to afford marketing in this challenging economy? 07/06/2023

Are you struggling to afford marketing in this challenging economy? Looking for significant increases in leads and sales? KEO Marketing is an award-winning B2B marketing agency. We know how maddening it is to waste money with a marketing agency that doesn’t deliver results. For more than 20 years we have built marketing systems that consistently deliver outstanding leads and sales. Some of the world’s largest brands have depended on KEO Marketing for marketing programs that drive business growth. Specializing in business to business (B2B) marketing strategy, creative, messaging, infrastructure, execution, marketing analytics and results, KEO Marketing helps Fortune 1000 companies as well as medium-sized businesses achieve and exceed their marketing and sales goals. Sheila Kloefkorn is a business and marketing expert with more than 30 years of experience. She helps companies increase leads and revenues by hundreds of millions of dollars. She leads a talented team of marketers in creating and executing award-winning campaigns around the world. Sheila founded full-service, business-to-business marketing agency KEO Marketing in 2000. The company specializes in marketing strategy, messaging, digital infrastructure, execution, and analytics. KEO Marketing grows Fortune 1000 companies as well as medium-sized businesses. Sheila is the recipient of many local and national marketing awards. She was recently named one of the “Top 10 Business Leaders of the Year” and “Top 25 Dynamic Women in Business” by the Phoenix Business Journal and one of 15 Arizonans to Watch by the Arizona Republic. She also received a Stevie Worldwide Women in Business Award. Sheila is Past President of the Phoenix Chapters of the Business Marketing Association and American Marketing Association. She is a certified business coach and a frequent national and local speaker on a wide range of marketing and business topics. For more information, please contact Sheila at or visit one of the locations listed below. /episode/index/show/aztec/id/27391038

Emerging technology trends and how they relate to consumers and business... 06/06/2023

Emerging technology trends and how they relate to consumers and business... Dr. David B. Bolman, Provost UAT Provost Bolman has focused his career upon addressing the profound need within Arizona and the nation for a substantial and diverse creative class workforce. As its long standing provost, Dr. Bolman has built the University of Advancing Technology (UAT) into a unique all-STEM institution that marries the best of traditional small private college learning with the genetics of innovation that come with agile technology organizations. As an educator, he has focused on cultivating a base of technology students and future inventors who are as diverse as the people who ultimately use their creations. As a technologist, he has worked to create a university where the culture of innovation and creation is so regular and celebrated that the goal for each student is to graduate having routinely worked on numerous teams and built again and again complete solutions using the technologies that excites their imagination. As a speaker and advocate on how to advance Arizona through advancing technology while growing the needed STEM workforce, Dr. Bolman has presented to wide range of audiences including the AZ House Committee on Technology, Arizona Leadership Forums, Cybersecurity conferences, VR for Good conference and the Arizona Science Center. As an advocate for Arizona as a remarkable state where innovation is encouraged in all spaces, including education, Dr. Bolman has grown UAT from a single classroom of 13 students into a STEM private college campus that is unique not only to Arizona but also the country. UAT and its community are dedicated to advancing society through students who learn the tools, techniques, concepts, and responsibilities of applying technology in ways that lift up human society. Dr. Bolman has researched, written, and spoken on the nature of technology as a foundational human force and how to successfully lead innovation. He is an alumni Valley Leadership and currently serves as its Past Board Chair. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Arizona Technology Council. He is an alumni of the FBI Citizens Academy and serves on the AZPBS community board. @UATedu #techrespect /episode/index/show/aztec/id/27028740

Learn about the people and the culture at PADT and where they are heading in 2023... 04/27/2023

See how JobPath works for you and your community in providing opportunity to those in need... 03/14/2023

Is your next generation of leaders ready to lead? Interview with Michael Beach 10/17/2022

Learn how HiMS is transforming the integrated health care experience one user at a time... 08/15/2022

Mercury brings together state-of-the-art technology and a DMEA accredited facility in Phoenix, Arizona 07/21/2022

Improving the lives of patients with brain tumors…Matthew of GT Medical Technology 04/27/2022

Improving the lives of patients with brain tumors…Matthew of GT Medical Technology About the Company: For decades, clinicians have sought better treatment options for patients with brain tumors that would effectively target tumor cells while preserving eloquent tissue. Driven to overcome the limitations of current treatments and raise the standard of care, a group of brain tumor specialists joined forces to address this critical, unmet need. Together with medical device experts, they developed GammaTile Therapy, Surgically Targeted Radiation Therapy (STaRT) for recurrent intracranial neoplasms. About Matthew Likens: Mr. Likens is an accomplished leader in the medical device industry. Prior to coming to GT Medical Technologies, he served as the president and chief executive officer of Ulthera, Inc. There, he led the startup from pre-commercialization to more than $100M in revenue and a $600M acquisition by Merz Pharma GmbH. Mr. Likens’ professional career began with Johnson & Johnson. However, he spent the bulk of his career at Baxter Healthcare Corporation, where he progressed through a variety of domestic and international sales, marketing, and general management roles that ultimately culminated in the position of president of Baxter Biotech North America, and then the president of its US Renal Care division. After leaving Merz in mid-2016, Mr. Likens eventually retired for 15 months before meeting the five founders of GT Medical in mid-2017. Mr. Likens is a member of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council Healthcare Innovation Committee and the City of Mesa Economic Development Advisory Board, as well as a member of the Kent State University College of Business Advisory Board. He joined GT Medical Technologies because he was inspired by the company’s powerful purpose of “Improving the lives of patients with brain tumors.” To learn more about GT Medical's technology, please visit . /episode/index/show/aztec/id/22932170