Business Class News's Podcast

Why adaptive identity, dynamic trust, and cultural alignment are shaping the next era of enterprise cybersecurity. By Karl Woolfenden A New Era of Identity Cybersecurity has always been an arms race—attackers innovate, defenders scramble to catch up. But for Jim Alkove, co-founder and CEO of Oleria, the most critical battlefield is no longer the perimeter or even the cloud. It’s identity. “The challenge we’re seeing is that traditional identity solutions haven’t kept up with the pace of change inside organizations,” Alkove explains. “Roles evolve, responsibilities shift, and yet too often, access controls remain rigid and outdated. That creates both friction for employees and risk for the enterprise.” Identity management, once seen as a compliance function, has now become the nerve center of organizational security. In Alkove’s view, the future of digital trust depends on making identity systems adaptive, intelligent, and above all, aligned with how businesses actually operate.  From Checkbox to Competitive A

By Karl Woolfenden | BCN.news Cloud adoption has transformed modern enterprises, but it has also introduced unprecedented complexity. As organizations scale across multiple providers and hundreds of services, the promise of agility often collides with the realities of misconfigurations, compliance demands, and overstretched DevOps teams. For Ian Amit, Founder and CEO of Gomboc, the gap between finding problems and actually fixing them is where the industry has been falling short. “We never had a find problem,” Amit emphasized during our BCN.news interview. “Finding is easy. Fixing and remediating is the problem.” With more than 25 years in cybersecurity—spanning roles at Rapid7, Amazon, and ZeroFox—Amit has witnessed the same cycle play out: tools excel at surfacing alerts, but engineers are left drowning in tickets. Gomboc, founded to break this cycle, applies a deterministic AI model that transforms misconfigurations directly into actionable code-level fixes. From Complaints to Solutions Amit admits that Go

As organizations prepare for the challenges of the coming year, cybersecurity continues to dominate boardroom agendas. At the forefront of this discussion is identity hygiene—a discipline that ensures enterprises understand, monitor, and protect every human and non-human access point across their systems. Rita Gurevich – CEO/Founder – SPHEREIn the latest edition of Race to the Start Line, I spoke with Rita Gurevich, CEO and founder of SPHERE, a company transforming how enterprises approach identity security. With a background forged in the complex aftermath of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, Gurevich has built SPHERE into a recognized leader in identity governance and automation. From Crisis to Innovation Gurevich’s career began at Lehman Brothers during its 2008 collapse. Tasked with mapping and redistributing technology assets across multiple buyers, she quickly identified a universal problem: organizations lacked a reliable inventory of systems, identities, and entitlements. “Without visibility, you can’t

The new season of Business Class News’s Race to the Start Line podcast launched with a conversation that was both deeply personal and profoundly forward-looking. Host Karl Woolfenden sat down with two leaders from Caris Life Sciences—Dr. David Spetzler, President and Chief Scientific Officer, and Dr. James Hamrick, Chairman of the Caris Precision Oncology Alliance —for a discussion on how Caris is transforming the future of cancer care. Woolfenden framed the conversation with personal reflections, sharing how recent losses in his own circle to cancer heightened his awareness of the need for innovation in oncology. “It tightened my awareness,” he said, “of how important it is to spotlight the companies and individuals driving meaningful progress.” Tackling the Complexity of Cancer Caris Life Sciences is a leader in molecular profiling and precision medicine, advancing how oncologists understand and treat cancer. Dr. Spetzler emphasized just how complicated this mission is: “Yeah, so I think what the patents de

Be Different: Escape the Competition, Create Value, and Change the Game by Marty Strong is a business and leadership guide that challenges conventional thinking and encourages individuals and organizations to embrace innovation and creativity. The book draws on the author’s extensive experience as a retired Navy SEAL, business leader, and entrepreneur.Key Themes and Insights:Differentiation as a Strategy Marty Strong emphasizes the importance of standing out in a competitive landscape. He encourages leaders to focus on creating unique value rather than following industry norms or engaging in cutthroat competition.Creative Problem-Solving The book advocates for adopting a mindset that seeks solutions outside the conventional playbook. By questioning assumptions and taking calculated risks, individuals and organizations can find new opportunities for growth.Resilience and Adaptability Drawing from his military background, Strong highlights the importance of resilience in overcoming challenges. He connects this

Karl spoke to Thomas Noh, the Founder of Sociable AI and they have an indepth conversation about his journey to founding the company and his vision of how his technology is enhancing social media engagements for brands and companies.Sociable.AI: Revolutionizing Digital Communication and EngagementIn an age where digital interactions dominate, the quest for more meaningful and impactful connections has never been more pressing. Enter Sociable.AI, a groundbreaking platform that is reshaping the landscape of communication through artificial intelligence. By integrating advanced technology with human-centric design, Sociable.AI aims to transform how businesses and individuals interact online, bridging the gap between personalization and scalability.What is Sociable.AI?Sociable.AI is a cutting-edge artificial intelligence platform designed to enhance digital engagement. It combines natural language processing (NLP), machine learning, and sentiment analysis to craft tailored interactions that resonate with users. W

Last year (2023) a conversation about creativity and innovation around art started about a great artist.The Picasso Celebration 1973-2023: 50th anniversary of the death of Pablo Picasso.  This celebration triggered the desire to bring the amazing art of Picasso over to the United States to stimulate interaction with businesses and education and encourage creativity.Karl talks to Andy Martinez, the President of the TECC (Texas European Chamber of Commerce) and their plans to bring over to Texas some wonderful pieces of art by Picasso.LEARN MORE: The Business of the Art - Creativity and Innovation Inspiration - BCN News Pablo Picasso from Malaga (10/25/1881 - 04/08/1973), as loved in Spain as in France, and internationally.Pablo Picasso was a multiple creator, he equally dominated the classical painting of his early years, as well as engraving, lithographic printing and other pictorial techniques. He painted from ceramics to an allegorical mural to peace, such as his 'Guernica'. And he was not alien t

Karl spoke to Matt Frankenbery, CEO of Pitsco Education and Eric Simmons, Director of Sales of Pitsco Education in our continuing series of segments with STEM in Schools and Eduardo Galindo.Learn More: https://www.bcn.news/stem-in-schools/Pitsco Education: Inspiring Innovation in EducationPitsco Education is a leading provider of innovative educational resources and solutions that aim to engage students in hands-on learning experiences. Founded in 1971 by a former teacher, Pitsco has grown from a small company into a significant player in the field of educational products, particularly in the realms of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education.Mission and VisionPitsco Education's mission is to help educators inspire students to learn by providing engaging, hands-on experiences that develop critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and creativity. Their vision is to create a world where all students can achieve their potential through innovative learning experiences that are both

We are proud to be a partner with STEM in Schools and Summa Caussa to help educate you on the ULTIMATE Ecosystem that is available to organizations and corporations to participate in.We have spoken to hundreds of corporate executives and they told us of the challenges they face trying to understand what STEM and educational programs are best for them, and that meet their objectives.STEM in Schools has developed a network of amazing partners that complement each other and deliver results.

BCN News has partnered with STEM in Schools and in our first in our series of conversations Karl speaks with STEM in Schools president Eduardo Galindo, Dee Memon, from Kids Robotics Academy and Max Ringleheim of Infento, North America.  They talk about their partnership together and how they are developing programs that are going to help shape the students of the future.

Karl is always talking to subject matter experts about how they can help companies grow.  Karl had a great conversation with Jim Buffington, a leading expert in future-ready tax software and innovative accounting technology with Intuit, and gave some amazing insights on how ProConnect Tax,  is the ONLY professional tax software with built in-tax advisory and insights, that empowers the industry with digital tax strategies and compliance solutions for new laws.Tax firms are currently encountering significant challenges, including ongoing staffing shortages and the complexities of preparing for 2025 tax policy changes. These combined pressures not only affect tax professionals' sense of accomplishment but also negatively impact their job satisfaction and career opportunities.Tax professionals and CPAs are working long hours to manage tax reform and compensate for workforce shortages. A solution that not only enables them to offer clients significant savings with customized tax plans but also leverages auto

With inflation coming in hot in the last PCE report, the outlook for Fed cuts in the second half of 2024 is getting more bleak by the minute.Rather than selling, homeowners are rethinking their money-making strategies and are entering the Short Term Rental market heading into the Summer. Homeowners need to know how to maximize profits and exactly what they need to do to comply with local regulations. Pam Knudsen, senior director of compliance at Avalara MyLodgeTax  discusses how owners can to set themselves up for success using AirBnB and other Short Term Rental market platforms with an actionable list of best practices.About Pam KnudsenPam Knudsen is Senior Director of Compliance at Avalara MyLodgeTax, leading the Lodging tax team and Returns Experience/Reconciliation team for Sales & Use. She serves as a leading voice in vacation rental tax compliance and regulation, in addition to bringing in-depth experience across software/SaaS technology as well as ERP systems. Pam joined Avalara in 2012. 

Whimstay is dedicated to offering the best deals on last-minute vacation rentals.We offer the biggest discounts on bookings made within 30 days of check-in, but we also ensure great deals year-round compared to other major booking sites.We do this by partnering with professional property managers to offer exclusive discounts on properties that might otherwise remain unrented. On average,  guests save nearly 25%, and over $200 per booking.Featuring an extensive selection of vacation rental homes, condos, cabins, villas, and resorts, Whimstay is becoming the go-to choice for savvy travelers.

Whimstay recently emerged as the industry leading travel site for booking last-minute vacation rentals at fantastic rates.If of interest I can look into getting a media rate discount if you (or someone else from your team) if you want to try Whimstay to book a getaway yourself.US based start-up Whimstay announced last month that bookings are up 400% last year compared with 2022 and that it attracted 1.2 million unique users to its site in 2023.The improved growth is attributed to new features, functionality, doubling its number of listings and forming several strategic partnerships.Whimstay has significantly outperformed other online travel agencies and booking sites, emerging as the marketplace leader for bookings made within 30 days of check-in. 

Creating fun and accessible chemistry stories has been a labor of love for Colleen as a retired University of Arizona chemistry professor and author of a series of kid’s chemistry comic books. In 2023, the PBS short documentary, “Comic Book Chemistry” was awarded an Emmy. This documentary centered around Colleen’s vision, chemistry comic book series and her success with teaching college-level chemistry concepts to kids. During Colleen’s 30 years of teaching chemistry, she became aware that her students were struggling with basic concepts, including fluency with the symbols for the elements themselves. These comic books, videos, and activities are Colleen’s gift to all future scientists – one that will help them succeed in college chemistry.Colleen holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Penn State University, was awarded a Chateaubriand Fellowship to conduct research at the Universite Pasteur in Strasbourg, France under the direction of Nobel Prize Winner, Jean-Marie Lehn. Colleen was a tenured faculty member with re

Karl talks to Michael Steiner, Marty Strong and Dr. Jens Hartmann in our NEW series Masters of Disruption, which was the brain child of Marty Strong who is a Board Member of BEST Robotics.Our spotlight shines on Dr. Jens Hartmann who is an award winning executive focusing on change management and culture change.Dr. Jens Hartmann talks about the science of culture, and how the brain has a huge part to play  in preparing individuals and organizations for changing the dynamics of the future performances.

In this new series from BEST Robotics, Masters of Disruption, we bring some of the greatest minds from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) to hear their take on how students, and the future workforce are working together to drive innovation and learning environments.  Karl spoke to Michael Steiner, Marty Strong and Vinay Kunwar and they had an insightful conversation about this subject to start the series off.   Vinay, the CEO of India First joined the conversation from his office in India and he talked about the collaboration with his organization and BEST Robotics.