Technology Power Breakfast transcript
Indianapolis Business Journal gathered tech leaders for a Technology Power Breakfast panel discussion March 14. The panel talked about topics ranging from ExactTarget to mentors to raising capital.
Tech Executives
Articles
ExactTarget’s current and former CFOs depart firm
Steve Collins and Traci Dolan, who both have served as ExactTarget’s chief financial officer, have departed the recently acquired company.
Angie’s List hires former Travelocity tech chief
Robert Wiseman has experience in “high-volume, consumer-centric e-commerce” after working for Orbitz Inc., Travelocity and Sabre Travel Network.
Investment firm ties crowd-funding to traditional fundraising
The online investing marketplace Localstake brokered a little more than $1 million in private investments for an Indiana distillery and a solar-heating startup in 2013, through crowd-funding. Instead of receiving a T-shirt or other novelty for their money, as with typical crowd funding, contributors received an actual stake in the business.
Key ExactTarget exec steps down
Tim Kopp, who was responsible for ExactTarget’s global marketing efforts during some of its most explosive growth, says he plans to take it easy and dabble in startups and not-for-profits.
Baggott leaves Compendium, goes whole-hog on food industry
The local tech titan and co-founder of ExactTarget has cut ties with his latest software venture to concentrate on his livestock and corn operations, plus a restaurant he just purchased in Greenfield.
Young CEO has big plans for employee-training software firm
Upstart Lesson.ly, an Indy-based developer of training software, is run by a 25-year-old and is trying to cut into a $42 billion market dominated by titans such as IBM and Oracle.
Q&A: Well-traveled exec returns home to run software firm
Indianapolis native Tom Willie became CEO of local software firm Blue Pillar Inc. in November after a run with several other technology companies.
Interactive Intelligence’s early bet on cloud paying off
The maker of call center software has seen its stock price rocket from about $20 to $62 over the last 25 months. The runup has swelled the company’s market value from $400 million to $1.3 billion.
Software developer Blue Pillar changes CEOs
Blue Pillar Inc. selected Thomas Willie III to take over as its CEO following the departure of Kevin Kushman. Willie started the new job Nov. 4.
Five tech firms with varied niches are on promising trajectories
Reaching the publicly traded level might not happen for anyone in the next year or two, but Indianapolis has several companies (including Jeff Ready’s Scale Computing) that have hoisted themselves out of the often-shaky startup phases and are ready to take off.
Tech deal escalates battle of titans
The CEOs and of four cloud marketing companies–two national and two local–might make Indianapolis into a bridge between two feuding Silicon Valley giants. Or put the city in the middle of an aggressive arms race in one of the tech industry’s hottest markets—cloud marketing.
Soards returns to Indiana to take AT&T’s top post
A Butler University graduate, Bill Soards served on the Indianapolis City-County Council from 1999 to 2003, starting at age 25, and was a member of the Boone County Council from 2004 to 2009.
Up-and-coming local tech firm Compendium sold to Oracle
Indianapolis-based technology firm Compendium, which was started by ExactTarget Inc. co-founder Chris Baggott, has been acquired by Silicon Valley-based tech giant Oracle Corp., the companies announced Thursday morning.
ExactTarget’s role expands at new parent firm
ExactTarget CEO Scott Dorsey and his team have taken the reins of the Marketing Cloud unit at Salesforce.com, a move that has analysts raving.
iGoDigital founder drops lawsuit over acquisition payout
Eric Tobias, who founded iGoDigital, has dropped a federal lawsuit that stemmed from the tech company’s $21 million buyout last year.
Longtime T2 Systems CEO stepping down
Mike Simmons, who began the company with business partner Steve Howard in 1994, will keep his ties to T2 in a less hands-on role as its chairman.
Another top executive leaves Angie’s List
Shares of the consumer review service have dropped more than 12 percent since the company announced Monday that Chief Technology Officer Manu Thapar had departed. The firm recently hired a new chief financial officer.
Data startup snags $2.1 million venture investment
Perceivant, on the receiving end of a venture capital infusion, was founded in 2012 by veterans of iGoDigital and ExactTarget.
AT&T Indiana president Fleetwood leaves company
George Fleetwood, the head of AT&T’s Indiana operations for more than 13 years, has quietly stepped down “to pursue other interests.”