Show Notes Join Seth Waters and Merritt DeGraw in the debut episode of the TechX Podcast, where they explore the evolving intersection of technology and business. Merritt, the Chief Technology Officer at Fortuna, shares insights into his journey through the tech landscape, discussing his experiences in networking, medical devices, education, and more. The conversation delves into the current landscape of manufacturing and distribution, uncovering trends, challenges, and the transformative power of technology, while emphasizing the role of automation, machine learning, and robotics in reshaping these industries. Tune in now to discover everything tech and business in this episode from the TechX Podcast! Topics Discussed Merritt DeGraw's journey in technologyThe role of automation, machine learning, and robotics in manufacturing and distributionTrends and challenges in the manufacturing and distribution sectorData security and protecting against cyber threats.Practical steps for leaders in manufacturing and distribution to embrace technology Quotes "You've got to be able to meet the demands of the organization. And so, that is a challenge, you know, how fast things are changing in this marketplace and how things are changing in the industry in general across all verticals. I think it's like the wild, wild West. So people need to be able to keep up with that change." – Merritt DeGraw "One is understanding the flow of how you get things done. A lot of times I find that the issue is not, you know, kind of the systems that they have, but it's the steps that they take. They may not understand their processes fully." – Merritt DeGraw “Everything should be built with security in mind” – Merritt DeGraw "Education is a big part of that conversation to say, I want to make sure that these people understand when they get an email from somebody that's outside that you don't click on the envelope, you don't click on the attachment." – Merritt DeGraw “…Educate yourself to get the others involved and start to really kind of together create that shared vision to drive those needles forward.” – Merritt DeGraw Transcript Advertisement: This episode is brought to you by Fortuna, an IT consulting and staffing company. From contact centers to IT and managed staffing services, Fortuna helps businesses “grow thru simplicity.” Learn more at gofortuna.com. Seth Waters: Well, welcome to the TechX podcast, where the future of technology intersects with business, and I’m excited to be with you today. I'm Seth Waters. I'm the Chief Marketing Officer at Fortuna and I'm here with Merritt DeGraw, the brains behind our show. Merritt, good to be with you today. Merritt DeGraw: Pleasure to be here. Thank you. Seth Waters: Before we jump into this new podcast, it's really a new conversation. Before we jump right in, I'd love for you to take a few minutes and talk about your past. You've been in technology for many years. You're now the Chief Technology Officer at Fortuna, but I'd like to just have you share about some of the story. What's your story? How have you gotten to where you are today? Merritt DeGraw: It's been a journey. I started off in networking back in the day, back when I was at Akamai Technologies so it’s actually the interview before Akamai and then, you know, “.com” bust happened, moved into medical device, worked at a company called NuVasive. They created the tools for minimal access, spinal surgeries. And I was the head guy there from – I’m reporting directly to CFO - and again helped them kind of build innovative technologies for helping people, you know, improve their outcomes from surgeries - from their spinal surgery. Seth Waters: Wow, wow. Very interesting. Merritt DeGraw: And then kind of moved into larger companies - work and education company. So that's where I met Jack, oddly enough. And so we, you know, we were online education for profit education company building a kind of a tracking solution for our students and such and giving them, you know, next generation education right again and then moved into a little bit of defense/transportation areas when I was working at Cubic Technologies, doing a move to the cloud. Basically that's kind of the main reason I was hired there. And I started helping out with some DevOps conversations also. And that led me into consulting career that eventually I landed here, so. Seth Waters: Wow. So you've done a lot of things that have prepared you to be able to talk as an expert about a lot of different technologies. Merritt DeGraw: Yes. Seth Waters: Now, you mentioned Jack, and Jack is the CEO at Fortuna, the company where you are the Chief Technology Officer right now amongst a whole bunch of other things. You know, as it is, we all have our hands on a lot of different projects, you know, as you do. But what is your job and what is your role right now as the chief technology officer at Fortuna? What does that encompass? What does that...
